Bhongir: Roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Friday claimed that MLC Teenmar Mallanna, also known as Ch Naveen Kumar, deliberately made controversial comments to gain political attention. Speaking after a private programme in Bhongir, the minister said that the Congress high command will handle the matter and declined to comment further.

He also defended the Congress government’s initiatives for Dalits and Backward Classes, announcing that 42 per cent of the reservation quota in the upcoming local body elections would be allocated to BCs. He stressed that there would be no reversal on the classification of Scheduled Castes. In a pointed remark, Komatireddy criticised BRS president K. Chandrashekhar Rao, calling it “shameful” for the BRS leader to comment on the caste census from his farmhouse.