BJP ally TDP states Muslim reservation is social justice, not appeasement

Telugu Desam Party leader Nara Lokesh stated on Friday that social justice, not appeasement, is the reason behind giving Muslims in Andhra Pradesh reservations in government employment and schools. NDTV reported on this.

The leader of the Telugu Desam Party said that the community in the state had reservations in place for the past 20 years in an interview with the television station. The son of N Chandrababu Naidu, the designate chief minister, Lokesh remarked, "We stand by it.”

The Andhra Pradesh Assembly was won on Tuesday by the Telugu Desam Party and its allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Jana Sena Party. According to NDTV, Naidu will take the oath of office as chief minister on June 12, Scroll.in reported.

Additionally, the party plays a significant role in the National Democratic Alliance, which is expected to form the centre's administration. 

In the recently ended general elections, the Telugu Desam Party emerged as the single-largest party in Andhra Pradesh, capturing 16 of the state's 25 Lok Sabha seats.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP leaders constantly accused the Congress of diverting quotas intended for backward sections to Muslim beneficiaries. They used the 4% reservation for Muslims under the Other Backward Classes category in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as an example. 

Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah both promised during election rallies to abolish "religion-based reservations" if they returned to power at the Centre.

Since 2007, Muslims in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been eligible for a 4% quota in government jobs and education under the category of Other Backward Classes. 

Based on socioeconomic statistics, Muslims are listed as Other Backward Classes in a total of 14 states and Union territories. 

The Telugu Desam Party would keep giving reservations to the state's population, according to Lokesh's statement on Friday.

“It is a fact that the minorities continue to suffer and that they have the lowest per capita income,” the Telugu Desam Party leader said. “As a government, it is my responsibility to bring them out of poverty. So whatever decisions I take are not for appeasement, but to bring them out of poverty.”

He added that no one could be left behind if the goal is to make the nation a developed one. “We should do it together and there is a great opportunity to do it,” he said. “It has been the trademark of the TDP [Telugu Desam Party] to take everyone together.”

According to Lokesh, the party would prioritise generating jobs and assisting the state's marginalised population. The BJP's final seat total in the Lok Sabha elections was 240, a considerable decrease from 2019 when it had secured 303 seats. The National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP, has 292 seats in total. 

The coalition prevailed in 353 constituencies during the 2019 general elections. To form a government at the centre, a party or alliance needs 272 seats out of the 543 members of the Lower House.

The Congress obtained 99 seats, a considerable increase over its 52-seat total from 2019. Together, the Opposition INDIA group secured 232 seats. In order to create the government, the BJP needed the help of partners like the Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (United) because it was unable to garner a majority on its own. 

The party would not permit the upcoming BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre to propagate campaigns against Muslims and other minority populations, according to Janata Dal (United) National Spokesperson KC Tyagi, who made this announcement on Friday.

“While we are there [in power with the BJP], no anti-Muslim, anti-minority campaign will be run,” Tyagi said, boasting of his party’s credibility among Muslims.