In the run up to the Telangana Assembly polls, the BJP has promised scrapping the Muslim reservation, bringing in Uniform Civil Code and free trip to Ayodhya for the people in the state if the party wins the state election.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah while campaigning in the state has reiterated that the BJP will remove 4 per cent Muslim reservation as soon as the government is formed and will distribute it among SC, ST and OBC.
“KCR gave Muslim reservation on the basis of religion which is against the Constitution. If you elect a BJP government, we will increase reservation for the OBCs and SC/STs in place of reservation on basis of religion,” Amit Shah said while campaigning in Telangana.
What Has BJP promised?
The issue of Muslim quota was highlighted by Amit Shah several times during the rally in Telangana where he promised scrapping the reservation for Muslims apart from imposing Uniform Civil Code and increasing reservation for the backward communities.
In the party manifesto, the BJP said “it is committed to remove all unconstitutional religion-based reservations in the state and reallocate it to Backward Classes, Scheduled Casts and Scheduled Tribes.”
The party promised to remove “unconstitutional” religion-based reservation, including the 4% quota for Muslims, in government jobs and seats in state educational institutes.
Congress’s ‘Minority Declaration’
The Congress has promised to increase the budget up to Rs 4,000 crore annually towards minority welfare and conducting the caste census within six months after coming to power in Telangana.
The party released the “Minority Declaration”, which will ensure fair reservation for all backward classes including, minorities in jobs, education and government schemes. It also promised Rs 1,000 crore per annum to provide subsidised loans to jobless minority youth and women.
The party also promised other benefits to the minority community including financial assistance to minority students, monthly honorarium for religious priests, establishing “Telangana Sikh Minority Finance Corporation”, special recruitment to fill Urdu medium teachers and other benefits.
What Have Other Parties Said
After Shah raked up the Muslim quota in April this year, the Congress, the BRS and the AIMIM accused him of “undermining” the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court before which the issue has been pending.
Hitting out at Shah, Telangana Congress Leader Shabbir Ali said the BJP has ‘zero’ idea about the Muslim quota in the state. Shabbir has maintained that the 4% Muslim quota in jobs and education for socially and economically backward Muslims is being implemented in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh based on the stay granted by the Supreme Court.
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi attacking the saffron party, said, “BJP is lying about the reservation. Muslims in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are not getting reservations on the basis of their religion but on their social and educational backwardness. Not every Muslim is getting it but there has been a list created for backward Muslims and they are only getting it.”
Both the Congress and AIMIM argued that the existing quota is not applicable to forward classes within the Muslim community while the benefits are only extended to the most socially and educationally backward classes of Muslims in social and educational sectors. The quota is applicable for butchers, dhobis, barbers among others.
The ruling BRS said that Shah’s statement was another sign that “the BJP is greedy to grab power by any means”.
BRS spokesperson Ravula Sridhar Reddy reportedly said, “Amit Shah has turned the Muslim quota into a religious issue. He does not know the difference between constitutional and unconstitutional quota because the 4% quota is constitutional and does not breach the 50% ceiling.”
All about the Muslim Reservation
The first proposal to bring Muslims under reservations dates back to the 1960s before Telangana was formed. The then Andhra Pradesh government had been studying the backwardness of the other backward classes and found that some sections of Muslims like washermen and weavers were more backward than the scheduled caste on the educational, social and economic fronts, according to The Times of India.
In 1994, the Congress government led by chief minister Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy included two categories of Muslims like washerman and weavers into the OBC list.
In 2004, the Congress government under YS Rajasekhar Reddy provided 5 per cent quota to Muslims by treating them as OBCs. A backward classes commission recommended reservations based on socio-educational backwardness among 14 categories of Muslims, but added that the reservation be brought down to 4 per cent to keep it well within the 50 per cent SC cap.
At present, Telangana provides 4 per cent reservation to Muslims, which constitutes 12.7% of the population in Telangana. During the 2014 Assembly election when the state was newly formed, the TRS (now BRS) had promised that it would increase reservations for Muslims in jobs and education to 12%.
In April 2017, the Telangana Assembly passed a Bill for increasing reservations for Muslims from 4 per cent to 12 per cent, and Scheduled Tribes from 6 per cent to 10 per cent. The Bill was then sent to the Union government for its assent. However, the centre refused to give its nod, saying that it cannot allow religion-based reservations.
Comments
0 comment