Congress fetes Muslim reservation 30-year mark
Hyderabad: The Congress is all set for celebrations to mark the implementation of 30 years of Muslim reservation in the Telugu states. Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Saturday, TPCC spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin and Hyderabad DCC president Mohammed Waliullah Sameer said the main event was scheduled for August 25, which Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was likely to attend.
Nizamuddin said invitations had been extended to Muslim MPs of the party including Md. Rakibul Hussain from Assam, Tariq Anwar, Dr Mohammed Jawed from Bihar, Shafi Parambil from Kerala, Hamidullah Sayeed from Lakshadweep, Imran Masood from Uttar Pradesh, Syed Naseer Hussain from Karnataka and Imran Pratapgarhi from Maharashtra as well as Salman Khursheed.
The TPCC spokesperson said that on August 25, 1994, the then Congress government issued GO Ms No 30, which included Muslims among 14 other castes to be given reservation. "The Congress' successful implementation of 5 per cent and later 4 per cent Muslim reservation within 58 days of coming to power was a huge achievement,” he said.
“The Congress and (government adviser) Shabbir Ali have been fighting the legal battles to defend this reservation in the High Court and the Supreme Court," he said while informing that the Telangana government was defending the case in the apex court.
DCC president Sameer Waliullah said the celebrations are aimed at raising awareness about the impact of 30 years of Muslim reservation on nearly 20 lakh poor Muslims. The event sought to educate the public on the importance of preserving this reservation, especially in the face of efforts by the BJP to dismantle it.
"Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has assured that the Congress government will continue to defend the 4 per cent Muslim quota, and Shabbir Ali has been actively countering the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to target Muslim reservation," Sameer said.
