BC Quota Diverted To Muslims: Kishan Reddy
In a statement issued on Thursday, he pointed out that the 4 per cent reservation for Muslims had already been struck down twice by the High Court and was currently operative only due to a stay by the Supreme Court
HYDERABAD: Union minister G. Kishan Reddy accused the Congress of betraying genuine Backward Class (BC) communities by politicising reservation promises and diverting benefits to Muslim groups. Referring to the Kamareddy declaration, he said the Congress’s pledge of 42 per cent BC reservation was misleading and intended to appease minorities at the expense of traditional BCs.
In a statement issued on Thursday, he pointed out that the 4 per cent reservation for Muslims had already been struck down twice by the High Court and was currently operative only due to a stay by the Supreme Court. Citing the state’s caste census, the minister said Congress had manipulated figures by inflating Muslim representation, reducing the apparent BC population from 56 per cent to 46 per cent.
He also recalled the previous GHMC elections, where 34 per cent BC reservation was allegedly distorted to benefit AIMIM candidates, many of whom, he claimed, were wrongly categorised as BCs.
Kishan Reddy alleged that Congress was now covertly working to reduce the BC quota to 32 per cent, reserving the remaining 10 per cent for Muslims. He reaffirmed the BJP’s commitment to BC welfare, citing constitutional steps taken by the Centre, including granting statutory status to the BC Commission, inducting BC leaders into the Union Cabinet and ensuring legally sound caste enumeration.
Condemning Congress’s remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s caste, Kishan Reddy questioned if other castes such as the Lambadas and Vishwakarmas, recognised as STs and BCs respectively, would also be branded as “converted.” He said such rhetoric exposed Congress’s casteist mindset.
Demanding the immediate implementation of the High Court’s directions on local body elections in Telangana, he demanded that the full 42 per cent reservation be genuinely allocated to traditional BCs, not to AIMIM leaders. If the Congress was truly committed to BC welfare, Kishan Reddy demanded, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy should resign and allow a BC leader to take charge.
