Congress will launch 100-day OBC rights campaign: Koppula Raju
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The Congress party is launching a 100-day campaign in Telangana to advocate for OBC rights, including a nationwide caste census. The initiative highlights Telangana's scientific caste survey as a model for the rest of the country.
Congress Launches Major OBC Rights Campaign in Telangana
The Indian National Congress has announced a concerted 100-day campaign across Telangana dedicated to the advancement of Other Backward Classes (OBC) rights. Announced by Congress Working Committee invitee Koppula Raju alongside state leadership, including Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud, the initiative aims to amplify the party's core demands for a nationwide caste census and the removal of the longstanding 50% reservation ceiling.
The Evolution of a Movement
According to Koppula Raju, the current focus on OBC empowerment is a direct evolution of the rhetoric championed by Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. What began as a political slogan has transformed into a sustained socio-political movement. By framing the caste census as a necessity for social justice, the party is attempting to consolidate its voter base by addressing systemic inequalities that have historically marginalized various communities.
Telangana as a Policy Blueprint
Central to this narrative is the state of Telangana, which the Congress party now positions as a "role model" for the rest of India. Under the administration of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, the state has undertaken a scientific caste survey that the party intends to replicate on a national scale. This local success is being used as a strategic proof-of-concept to argue that such data-gathering is not only feasible but essential for evidence-based policymaking.
The National Context of the Demand
For the past five years, senior Congress leadership, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, has persistently petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to integrate a caste census with the decennial population enumeration. The campaign in Telangana is intended to apply further political pressure on the central government, suggesting that the party will continue to make this a central plank of its national opposition strategy.
Future Implications and Political Strategy
The 100-day timeline suggests a focused, high-intensity effort to mobilize grassroots support. By specifically targeting the 50% reservation cap—a constitutional limit that has been a point of contention in Indian jurisprudence for decades—the Congress is signaling a shift toward more radical policy positions. This campaign serves as both a localized organizational push in Telangana and a broader attempt to shape the national discourse ahead of future electoral cycles.
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