Telangana cabinet sets up panel to draft Rohith Vemula Act, approves Hate Speech Bill

Hyderabad: The Telangana Cabinet on Monday decided to appoint a ministerial subcommittee to draft the framework for the 'Rohith Vemula Act', to address caste discrimination in educational institutions, sources said. In a move to ensure social security for senior citizens, the cabinet gave its nod to a bill mandating that public representatives, government employees, or private employees care for their elderly parents.

Failure to comply will result in a deduction of 15 per cent of their salary or Rs 10,000 (whichever is lower), which will be provided to the parents. The government has approved the Telangana Hate Speech and Hate Crime Prevention Bill, 2026, designed to curb posts that disturb communal harmony and speeches that incite riots and conflicts.

According to sources, the subcommittee for the Rohit Vemula Act will be chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, with ministers Damodar Rajanarsimha, Duddilla Sridhar Babu, Uttam Kumar Reddy, and Ponnam Prabhakar as members.

Rohit Vemula , a PhD scholar, died by suicide in his hostel room on the University of Hyderabad campus in 2016, triggering widespread protests. The Cabinet also approved the Telangana Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2026, for the benefit of approximately 4.2 lakh gig and platform workers in the state.

Also read What is the Rohith Act? Provisions, origin, politics of a draft law to combat caste discrimination on campus

Telangana forms panel for Rohith Vemula Act

Under the Bill, worker registration will be implemented, along with establishing a welfare board and a Welfare Fund. The Bill provides legal recognition, social security, and protection of rights for gig workers through the formation of a welfare board. This Bill, previously approved by the Cabinet, has now been slightly revised to align with the Social Security Code recently introduced by the Centre.

The Cabinet decided to expedite the process of taking over the existing 69 km Hyderabad Metro system from L&T. According to a subcommittee report, the government may need to cough up around Rs 15,000 crore, including debt, to take over Phase 1 of the project. The cabinet has approved the report submitted by an independent expert committee appointed to study the caste census conducted in the state.

The committee, chaired by Justice Sudarshan Reddy, prepared the report. Also, the cabinet discussed the findings and assigned a subcommittee to further examine the report. As part of its goal of social justice and empowerment of all sections, Telangana conducted a comprehensive socio-economic and caste survey-the first of its kind in the country- for 50 days, from November 6 to December 25, 2024. The Cabinet has approved the Telangana Advocate Protection Bill, aiming to prevent attacks on lawyers and ensure their safety.