Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his promise that if the BJP is voted to power in Telangana, it will scrap reservation for Muslims in the state.
Owaisi hit out at Modi-Shah duo in a tweet saying that while the Prime Minister talks of reaching out to backward Muslims, Shah is promising to remove their reservation.
Taking to Twitter, AIMIM Chief said, “Besides anti-Muslim hate speech, BJP has no vision for Telangana. All they can offer is fake encounters, surgical strikes on Hyderabad, curfews, releasing criminals and bulldozers. Why do you hate people of Telangana so much……If Shah is serious about justice for SCs, STs and OBCs, then he should introduce a constitutional amendment to remove 50% quota ceiling.”
"Modi allegedly says reach out to pasmanda Muslims, Amit Shah complies by promising to remove their reservation," tweeted Owaisi
The Hyderabad MP also reminded Shah that reservations for backward Muslim groups are based on empirical data.
"Please read the Sudhir Commission report. If you cannot, please ask someone who can. Reservations for Muslims are continuing under a stay from SC," Owaisi wrote.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the reservation given to Muslims in Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)-governed Telangana in education and employment as well as in the implementation of welfare schemes was ‘unconstitutional’ and warned that it would be scrapped once Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power in the state.
“BJP government in the State will scrap all such unconstitutional reservations if voted to power in the next Assembly elections,” Shah said while addressing a public meeting organised in the name of ‘Vijay Sankalp Sabha’ at Chevella parliamentary constituency, in Rangareddy district, on Sunday.
He said that reservation is the right of the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). "After the BJP government is formed in Telangana, we will end Muslim reservation. This is the right of SCs, STs, OBCs," he said.
Owaisi said if Shah was serious about justice for SCs, STs and OBCs, then he should introduce a Constitutional amendment to remove the 50 percent quota ceiling.
This is not the first time that Shah has spoken about removing reservations for Muslims in Telangana.
He made the promise on several occasions in the past and reiterated this in view of Assembly elections scheduled later this year.
The BJP government in Karnataka last month scrapped 4 percent quota for OBC Muslims.
Backward Muslims in Telangana also enjoy 4 percent reservation in education and jobs. This was introduced by the Congress government in undivided Andhra Pradesh about 15 years ago.
The state's incumbent Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)-led government has promised to increase the Muslim quota to 12 per cent.
A resolution to this effect was passed in Telangana Assembly and sent to the Centre five years ago but the proposal has been rejected by the BJP-led government. The Centre cited that not only the reservation was religion-based, but it also exceeded the limit of 50 percent reservations set for every state.
In March this year, the BJP government in Karnataka scrapped the 4 percent quota for Muslims and distributed it among Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities.
Owaisi also took a dig at Shah for repeatedly naming him in his speech while targeting the BRS government.
"Ye 'Owaisi Owaisi' ka rona kab tak chalega? Khaali khattey dialog'aan maarte rehte. Please sometimes speak about record-breaking inflation & unemployment also. Telangana has the highest per capita income in the country," tweeted Owaisi.
Shah had alleged in his speech that the steering of the 'car' (poll symbol of BRS) is in the hands of Owaisi. He also alleged that the BRS is not celebrating Telangana Liberation Day as it is afraid of Owaisi.
With inputs from agencies