Hyderabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah made a bold assertion, declaring that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regains power in the Centre following the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, they would terminate the 4% job reservations designated for Muslims in Telangana.
Shah emphasized that instead, these reservations would be allocated to Backward Classes (BC), Scheduled Caste (SC), and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. It’s important to note that the reservations for Muslims in Telangana are not segregated; rather, they are encompassed within the BC reservation quota. Shah’s statement could potentially lead to misconceptions about separate religious reservations for Muslims, which is not the case in Telangana.
Speaking at a public gathering in Siddipet in support of BJP’s Medak candidate M. Raghunandan Rao, Shah criticized the Congress for exploiting Telangana as a political resource, dubbing it the “ATM” of Delhi and implying that the party’s leadership was exploiting the state for electoral gains. Raghunandan Rao, a prominent BJP figure who previously won the Dubbaka Assembly seat but was later defeated by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), joins other notable BJP figures like Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay and Secunderabad MP (also the current BJP Telangana chief) Kishan Reddy in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state next month.
During his rally in Siddipet, Shah alleged that the Congress government in Telangana is turning a blind eye to alleged corruption within the BRS concerning the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme. He also resorted to typical BJP rhetoric, linking the BRS and Congress to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
Shah declared, “Congress and BRS may fear the Majlis (AIMIM), but we do not. We will formally commemorate September 17 as Telangana Liberation Day. The comprehensive development of Telangana can only be achieved with the BJP in power at the Centre.” Previously, he had accused the BRS government of being influenced or indirectly controlled by the BRS, despite both parties claiming to maintain a friendly relationship with each other.
