The Congress government’s ambitious plan to give 42 per cent reservation to the Backward Classes in Telangana has taken communal overtones with the Bharatiya Janata Party alleging that the hidden agenda was to push for a quota for Muslims at the cost of the BCs.
“The Congress had promised 42 per cent reservations for BCs in its election manifesto. But now, under the guise of a “BC Bill”, 10 percent of that is being diverted to Muslims, and only 32 per cent will actually go to BCs,” the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and senior BJP leader Bandi Sanjay said.
At a time when the Congress government is mounting pressure for the President’s assent for the bill passed by the state assembly, earmarking 42 per cent quota for the BCs in jobs and educational institutions, the BJP has raised the controversy over Muslim quota. It has accused the Congress of orchestrating a conspiracy to provide reservations to Muslims that would reduce benefits for Hindu BCs in Telangana.
The Socio, Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey 2024 formed the basis for the Congress government to prepare a bill providing 42 per cent reservations to BCs.
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According to the SEEEPC survey, BC numbers including those belonging to the Muslim minority stand at 56.33 per cent of the total enumerated population. The survey revealed that the BC population among Hindus stands at 46.25 per cent, while BCs among Muslims account for 10.08 per cent. The BJP has been opposing the inclusion of BC Muslims in the overall BC quota.
"The fact is that the central government is already implementing 27 per cent reservations for BCs. The Congress’s so-called ‘BC bill’ gives only 5 per cent additional reservation to BCs, while using it as a cover to grant 10 per cent to Muslims,” Sanjay, the former state BJP president, said.
“Our stand is clear. Religion-based reservations go against the spirit of the Constitution. The BJP has always opposed Muslim reservations. We demand full 42 per cent reservations exclusively for BCs; otherwise, we will block the bill at all costs. If this poisonous tree is not uprooted in Telangana, it will spread across the country. The entire BC and Hindu community is on the brink of a mass uprising against Congress,” Sanjay said.
The Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, who is also from Telangana, reminded that the High court had in the past struck down religion based reservations when 4 per cent Muslim quota was sought to be introduced.
“The BJP had unconditionally supported the 42 per cent reservation Bill introduced by the Congress government in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, but now, the Congress party is trying to provide 10 per cent out of 42 per cent reservation to Muslims, which will not be accepted by our party,” said the newly-appointed Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao.
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