Shabbir Ali Hails 42% BC Quota as Historic Move, Challenges KCR Family to Public Debate on Welfare
Hyderabad, July 11, 2025 — Senior Congress leader and Telangana Government Advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir has hailed the Telangana Cabinet’s decision to implement 42% reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections as a landmark step towards social justice and political empowerment. He called it a “revolutionary achievement” that reflects the Congress government’s genuine commitment to marginalised communities.
Speaking at Gandhi Bhavan, Shabbir Ali threw a public challenge to former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, and former ministers K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao, inviting them to debate who had truly worked for the welfare of BCs.
“BCs across Telangana are celebrating. This is a milestone no other government, including BRS or BJP, dared to implement. The Congress not only promised but delivered 42% BC reservations through an ordinance,” he said.
Congress Delivers on Kamareddy Declaration
Shabbir Ali recalled that the promise was made in the Kamareddy Declaration, signed in his constituency and residence in the presence of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah. He praised the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, saying the Congress had matched its words with swift, bold action—from announcing the caste census in February 2024 to passing the reservation ordinance by February 2025.
Sharp Criticism of BRS and BJP
He criticised the previous BRS government, accusing it of slashing BC reservations in Panchayat Raj bodies from 34% to 22% and failing to defend BC rights constitutionally.
“KCR confined BCs to caste-based professions like barbers and tailors while Congress envisions them as doctors, engineers, scientists, and political leaders,” Shabbir said.
He also slammed BRS for supporting BJP-backed laws like the Triple Talaq Act, Article 370 abrogation, and CAA, but doing nothing to secure 12% Muslim and 10% ST reservations.
Data-Driven Empowerment
According to Shabbir Ali, the caste census revealed that BCs form 56.33% of Telangana’s population, while Muslims constitute 12.58%, with 10.08% under BC-E. He described the move as a direct empowerment of backward Muslims and other disadvantaged groups.

“This 42% quota is more than politics—it’s a social correction decades overdue,” he added, appealing to all parties to support the measure.
Challenge to KCR for Open Debate
Claiming seniority in politics, Shabbir Ali said, “I became a minister seven years before KCR. If KCR and his family have the courage, let them debate with me on what they really did for BCs, SCs, STs, and minorities.”
He criticized KCR for not appointing a single woman minister in his first term and for holding elitist views about BCs. “Congress believes in justice, data, and delivery—not tokenism,” he asserted.
Cabinet Expansion and Muslim Representation
When asked about Muslim representation in the Cabinet, Shabbir Ali confirmed that one of the three vacant cabinet berths would be given to a Muslim leader in the upcoming expansion.
He also assured full support for the Congress candidate in the Jubilee Hills by-election, stating he would “campaign wholeheartedly, no matter who gets the ticket.”
Among those present at the press conference were Haj Committee Chairman Khusro Pasha Biyabani, TPCC Vice-President Mujahed Alam Khan, TPCC Spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin, and Hyderabad DCC President Mohammed Waliullah Sameer.
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