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Ahead of the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections to be held in 2023, the BJP has doubled down on its stand against reservations for backward Muslims in the state. The BJP's Telangana president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Wednesday, May 26, reiterated his party’s claim that if voted into power in the state, it would abolish minority reservations, alluding to a proposed increase in reservations for backward Muslims to 12% by the ruling TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) government. Bandi Sanjay made the statement while addressing a 'Hindu Ekta Yatra' in Karimnagar on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, along with several other anti-Muslim communal remarks.
The debate on Muslim reservations in Telangana is a longstanding one, and the BJP has been opposed to it from the start, since a Bill in this regard was passed in the Telangana Assembly five years ago in 2017. The issue also featured prominently in the campaign for the 2018 Assembly elections, with the BJP lashing out against the proposal and the TRS blaming the Narendra Modi-led Union government for delaying its implementation.
During a recent visit to Telangana, Union Home Minister Amit Shah too declared that the BJP would end minority reservations in the state and provide the benefit to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), backward classes and the poor among upper castes (EWS or Economically Weaker Sections). Addressing a public meeting in Hyderabad on May 14, Amit Shah had said, “The minority reservation based on religion affects the SC, ST, OBC reservation. We will end minority reservations and increase SC, ST, and OBC reservations.”
At present, Telangana provides 4% reservation for Muslims. During the 2014 Assembly election when the state was newly formed, the TRS had promised that it would increase reservations for Muslims in jobs and education to 12%, in proportion to their percentage in the state’s population. According to the 2011 census, Muslims constituted 12.7% of the population in Telangana.
In 2016, a Commission led by former IAS officer G Sudhir constituted to study the socio-economic and educational status of Muslims in Telangana recommended a reservation of a minimum of 9% to 12%. The Commission had found that 85% of Muslims in the state were in a backward condition.
In April 2017, the Telangana Assembly passed a Bill for increasing reservations for Muslims from 4% to 12%, and Scheduled Tribes from 6% to 10%. The Bill was then sent to the Union government for its assent. However, the Union government has reportedly refused to give its nod, saying that it cannot allow religion-based reservations.
Earlier on May 15, in a rebuttal to Amit Shah’s speech from the previous day, Telangana Minister and TRS working president KT Rama Rao pointed out that reservations for Muslims also exist in other states like Kerala, and even BJP-ruled states like Karnataka and Bihar. Muslims have 10% reservation in government jobs and 12% in educational institutions in Kerala. Like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh also provides 4% reservation for Muslims, as does Karnataka. Tamil Nadu provides 3.5% reservation for Muslims. KTR had asked Shah why it can be implemented in other states but not in Telangana. However, CM KCR did not immediately respond to Amit Shah’s remarks on minority reservations, prompting the Telangana Congress to question his silence on the matter.
Ahead of the 2018 Telangana Assembly election too, the BJP had taken a stand against the proposal. At the time, PM Modi had slammed the move, calling it a ‘crime’ and an act of ‘treason’. Both Modi and Shah had said the increase in reservations cannot be done, citing the 50% upper limit on total reservations by the Supreme Court. Earlier in 2019, when the legislation for 10% reservation for the EWS quota was proposed by the Union government, KCR had urged to amend the Bill to include Muslims and STs as per Telangana’s demand.
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At a campaign rally in Hyderabad in 2018, PM Modi had claimed even then that reservations for Muslims would take away the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs. Addressing an election rally back then, Amit Shah had also said the BJP would neither provide reservation on the basis of religion nor allow its implementation by others. On the other hand, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his election speeches for delaying its implementation by not approving the hike in reservations for Muslims.
With PTI inputs