Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion during campaigning in Gujarat on Monday that the 50 per cent cap on reservation quota decided by the Supreme Court cannot be overruled by political parties, has irked the governments of both Telangana and AP.
“We have been saying that religion-based reservation (for Muslims) is not constitutionally valid. Now with PM Modi’s talk on the issue it has been proved that whatever Chandrasekhar Rao claimed about the PM's assurance to him is totally wrong,” Dr Laxman added.
However, AP Minister for Backward Classes Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, who piloted the Kapu reservation bill in the Assembly, said, “We are quite aware of SC’s cap on quota, but there are demands which need to be considered positively. It is not only AP, but several governments including BJP-ruled Haryana and Rajasthan, that have hiked reservations for Jats and Gujjars.”
Rejecting Mr Modi’s contention, Telangana FM Etela Rajender said, “in such a case how Tamil Nadu is allowed to have 69 per cent reservation over and above the 50 per cent cap? Is Tamil Nadu not part of the country? The issue of reservations to needy sections is not a rigid or static one.”
