Congress leader from Telangana Vijayashanti said they have been fighting for the rights of backward classes for years.

“This is the second time we are holding such an event. We are demanding 42 per cent reservation for the backward classes,” she said.

Asserting that the OBCs are the backbone of the country, she alleged that the BJP-led central government has been trying to block the move. “Just as Sonia Gandhi helped create Telangana, we will also achieve 42 per cent reservation through our fight,” she asserted.

Purnia MP Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, said if a revolution begins in this country, “it always starts from the South, and Punjab and Bengal support it”.

“If there is anyone who truly has the courage to be the voice of the last person in line, it is Rahul Gandhi. He is a Brahmin. If he wanted the Prime Minister’s chair, he could have taken it after Dr Manmohan Singh. But instead, he chose to walk across the country. No one else has the courage to do what he has done,” the MP said, while calling Revanth Reddy a “tiger leader”.

“The Telangana government is the first in the country to take the right steps towards implementing enhanced caste survey,” said Jothimani Sennimalai, Congress leader from Tamil Nadu.

“I come from Tamil Nadu, a state that already has more than 50 per cent reservation. With this amendment, Telangana will follow suit and become the next state to ensure such inclusive representation,” she said.