BJP Opposes Inclusion Of Muslims In BC Quota
The ruling party had promised 42 per cent reservation to BCs but was now allocating 10 per cent of it to Muslims under the guise of BC quotas: Telangana BJP chief
Hyderabad: The BJP has accused the Congress government of betraying Backward Classes (BCs) community by slashing their reservation quota. Union minister G. Kishan Reddy charged that the government had reduced the BC quota from the promised 42 per cent to 32 per cent for the upcoming local body elections — two per cent lower than in the previous polls — and allocated the rest to the Muslim community.
Speaking at a dharna organised by the BJP’s OBC Morcha at Indira Park, Kishan Reddy vowed to intensify statewide protests until the full quota was restored to the community. He urged BC associations and caste groups to join the fight, alleging that the Congress had diverted BC quota to appease Muslims.
He recalled that the previous BRS government, under pressure from MIM leader, attempted to provide a 12 per cent quota for Muslims. In the last GHMC polls, he said, the BC community lost significant representation when four per cent reservation was allotted to Muslims.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP and BC Welfare Association president R. Krishnaiah, Malkajgiri MP Etala Rajender, BJP vice president Dr. G. Manohar Reddy and other senior leaders participated in the dharna.
Kishan Reddy said that the BJP was not against Muslims but opposed religion-based reservations. He said the BJP government’s 10 per cent EWS quota benefits Muslims, Christians and other poor sections alike, without violating constitutional principles.
He also criticised the Congress for attacking the BJP and the Centre to deflect from its failure to implement the "Kamarreddy Declaration." He credited the Modi government with giving statutory status to the BC Commission, inducting 28 BC leaders into the Union Cabinet and launching a scientific census to assess the socio-economic conditions of BCs.
Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao demanded the immediate implementation of 42 per cent reservations exclusively for the BCs community, without allocating any portion to Muslims. He accused the Revanth Reddy-led government of politicising the issue by holding protests in Delhi while failing to act in Telangana. He pointed out that Congress had never appointed a BC leader as Chief Minister in the Telugu states and challenged Revanth Reddy to disclose the funds spent on BC welfare.
BJP floor leader A. Maheshwar Reddy questioned the Congress government’s commitment to the Kamarreddy Declaration, highlighting the absence of 42 per cent BC representation in the Cabinet. He listed several unfulfilled promises: exclusion of BC members from the Cabinet, failure to establish a Munnuru Kapu Corporation, refusal to reclassify the Mudiraj community from BC-B to BC-A and non-distribution of sheep to Yadavs as promised before the elections.
BJP general secretary Dr Kasam Venkateshwarlu termed Revanth Reddy’s public statements on BC welfare as hollow, accusing the Congress of failing to honour the Udaipur Declaration. He also pointed to unfulfilled commitments such as establishing BC Gurukulas in every mandal and allocating `20,000 crore annually for BC welfare, with no real expenditure to show.