Hyderabad: Union Minister Kishan Reddy declared that the BJP will not accept any inclusion of Muslims in Backward Class (BC) reservations, asserting that the party is committed to blocking Muslim quota in BC reservations.
Speaking in Delhi on Wednesday in response to the Congress-led protest over pending approval of Telangana’s BC reservation bills, Kishan Reddy criticised the state’s move to allocate 42% quota to BCs, saying the inclusion of Muslims within it was constitutionally flawed.
BJP firm on blocking Muslim quota in BC reservations, says Kishan Reddy
He said the Congress had promised 42% reservation to BCs during elections, and it’s their responsibility to fulfil that commitment transparently. “Burning shirts and blaming the BJP won’t help. We won’t stay silent,” he warned.
Kishan Reddy alleged that Congress, like the previous BRS government, was reducing actual BC representation by diverting 10% of the quota to Muslims. He claimed this undermines the political power of BCs. “If 10% of the 42% quota is given to Muslims, BCs lose their chance at real empowerment,” he said.
He also accused the Congress of carrying out an unscientific caste survey to undercount BCs and suggested that the recent Congress rally in Telangana served only to glorify the Gandhi family. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, he said, was trying to gain the Gandhis’ support to withstand internal political pressure. “Half his speech was just Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi chants,” Reddy mocked.
