New Delhi: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday, July 23, stated that the 42 percent reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in the state does not include quotas for Muslims based on religion.
Addressing the media at his official residence in New Delhi on Wednesday, July 23, Revanth Reddy said that some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Telangana were demanding the removal of Muslims who constitute 10 percent of Telangana population, for supporting the Bills sent by Telangana to the Centre, to implement 42 percent reservation for the Backward Classes (BC) in education, employment and their representation in the local bodies.
Hitting back at the allegations by the BJP leaders, he said that if they were against reservations for Muslims, they should first repeal reservations for Muslims in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, where such reservations were being implemented for decades.
He said that the newly-elected BJP state president, N Ramchander Rao, was trying to rake up an emotional issue like Muslim reservations only to obstruct 42 percent reservation for BCs.
“There are no reservations for Muslims on the basis of religion. Backwardness is the only basis for reservations. Do you know that Dudekulas (a Muslim community) in Telangana have been availing BC reservations since 1979?” he questioned.
In support of his argument, Revanth Reddy said that 38 Muslim communities in Madhya Pradesh, 5 in Uttar Pradesh, and 28 in Gujarat have been availing BC reservations for a long time.
Terming BJP leaders’ suspicions on Muslim reservations as a ‘misleading argument,’ Revanth Reddy cautioned that if BJP continued to obstruct 42 percent reservations for BCs, that party will be wiped out from Telangana.
Also noting that all the opposition parties, including BJP, had supported the two Bills enacted by the Telangana Assembly to give 42 percent reservations to BCs, Revanth Reddy questioned the motive behind their opposition to the reservations now.
He said that complete data analysis has been done on the comprehensive caste, socio-economic, political, educational and jobs survey by an independent experts committee headed by justice Sudarshan Reddy, and that their report will be tabled in the Assembly in the coming monsoon sessions, when BJP MLAs were welcome to question and clarify their doubts on 42 percent reservations for BCs.
Revanth Reddy said that he, along with Telangana Congress MPs will meet Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday morning, and INDIA Bloc MPs in the evening, to garner their support to pressurise the Centre to pass the two Bills for 42 percent reservations for BCs which the Centre has been deliberately delaying.
He also made it clear that the ordinance passed by the Telangana Assembly and sent to the President for approval shouldn’t be clubbed with 42 percent reservations for BCs, as it was just an amendment to the Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act passed in 2018, removing the 50 percent cap on reservations in the local bodies.
He also mentioned that 3.9 percent of the Telangana population chose to have ‘no caste’ during the caste survey.
Pitches Bandaru Dattatreya for vice-president
In view of Jagdeep Dhankar resigning from the post of Vice-President of India, Revanth Reddy suggested that the Centre consider former Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya in his place, as the latter was acceptable to all.
Revanth Reddy also said that by making Dattatreya the Vice President, the BJP could wash some of its sins.
“By not making Venkaiah Naidu the President and doing his ‘ghar wapsi’, the BJP ensured that a Telugu voice wouldn’t emerge at the Centre. They removed Dattatreya from the Union minister’s post and gave it to Kishan Reddy. They replaced Bandi Sanjay from the post of the party’s state president and made Ramchander Rao, a Brahmin, the state president. BJP has cut the throat of those representing the BC sections in Telangana,” he alleged.
He accused the BJP leadership of never encouraging BC leaders in the party to emerge prominently in national politics.
He expressed that the wise thing for the BJP to do now was at least to make Dattatreya the vice president, as he represents the BC community.
