Uppal: A meeting of SC, ST, and BC journalists from the Uppal constituency was held at the Uppal MLA camp office under the chairmanship of Nerdam Bhaskar Goud. The meeting was conducted as per the directions of MLA Bandari Lakshma Reddy. Strong criticism was expressed over the 2026 Telangana State Budget. Speakers stated that out of the total budget of approximately Rs. 3.25 lakh crore, only Rs. 12,511 crore has been allocated to Backward Classes (BCs), who constitute around 56 percent of the state population. This amounts to just 3.8 percent of the total budget, which they termed highly inadequate. They criticized the government for failing to allocate sufficient funds for BC development and for neglecting the BC Sub-Plan. Concern was also raised over the absence of a job calendar for unemployed youth in the budget. The speakers further pointed out that the government had promised 42 percent reservations for BCs but failed to mention it in the budget. They also stated that gurukul schools lack basic facilities and that no adequate funds have been allocated for their development. It was alleged that the welfare of farmers and agricultural labourers has been ignored. The government was also criticized for not fulfilling its promise to increase assistance under the Dalit Bandhu scheme from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 12 lakh. The budget was described as anti-BC, with participants stating that nearly 2.5 crore BCs, along with employees, intellectuals, and students across the state, are strongly opposing it. Participants in the meeting included Sai, Jhansi, Gollu Anjaiah, Saijain Shekhar, Prabhudas, Bannala Praveen, Jalli Mohan, Kumaraswamy, Kanakaraju, Kashipati, Manohar, Lakshminarayana, Venkatesh Goud, Nagaraju, Sagar, and Veerender.