Will end Telangana's 'unconstitutional' Muslim quota if BJP wins: Amit Shah

During a rally, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated BJP's commitment to ensuring the rights of SCs, STs, and OBCs

A month after scrapping the four per cent quota for Muslims in Karnataka, Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday announced that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins power in Telangana, it will end the "unconstitutional" Muslim reservations in the state.

Addressing a public meeting in the Chevella parliamentary constituency near Hyderabad, Shah reiterated the BJP's commitment to ensuring the rights of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), as well as eliminating religion-based reservations for Muslims.

We will put a stop to Muslim reservations in educational institutions. Quotas are a fundamental right of Dalits, tribals, and backward castes, and we will ensure they benefit, he said.

Earlier in March, the BJP-ruled Karnataka government scrapped the four per cent reservation for OBC Muslims in jobs and education and split it between the Vokkaligas and Lingayats, the two important political constituencies in the state. The move came just ahead of the May 10 elections.

Slamming the incumbent Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government for corruption in various projects, Shah stated that the BJP's fight will not end until the "corrupt" regime is "dethroned."

He further alleged that the centre's welfare programmes for Telangana are not reaching the poor.

He also accused the K Chandrashekar Rao administration of carrying out the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)'s "agenda" in Telangana, saying, "No government can run in Telangana whose steering is with Majlis (Owaisi). Majlis does not frighten us. Telangana's government will serve the people of the state. It is not going to run for Owaisi."

AIMIM chief hits back

AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi hit back at Amit Shah over his promise to scrap the Muslim quota, saying the saffron party has no vision for the state “besides anti-Muslim hate speech”.

"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 & bulldozers. Why do you hate people of Telangana so much?" Owaisi asked.

Further, taking potshots at the home minister, he said, "If Shah is serious about justice for SCs, STs & OBCs, then he should introduce a constitutional amendment to remove 50 per cent quota ceiling."

Reservations for backward Muslim groups is based on empirical data, he added.