Union Minister Amit on Sunday vowed to scrap the reservations for Muslims in Telangana if the BJP forms the government in the state.
Addressing the rally at Chevella near Hyderabad, Amit Shah slammed religion-based reservations, calling them "unconstitutional".
He said the party will do away with the 4 per cent Muslim quota if it comes to power in Telangana, offering the right to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and other backward communities. "This right is of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBC," Mr Shah said.
The home minister slammed the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government, alleging corruption in several projects and said the BJP's fight will not stop until the "corrupt" regime is "dethroned."
He also alleged that the welfare measures extended by the centre for Telangana are not reaching the poor.
Amit Shah accused the K Chandrashekar Rao government of implementing the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM "agenda" in the state.
"No government can run in Telangana whose steering is with Majlis (Owaisi). We are not afraid of Majlis. The government of Telangana will run for the people of the state. It will not run for Owaisi," Mr Shah said.
AdvertisementHitting back at the home minister over his promise to scrap the Muslim quota in the state, Mr Owaisi said that the BJP has no vision for Telangana, 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?" he asked.
Advertisement"If Mr Shah is serious about justice for SCs, STs & OBCs, then he should introduce a constitutional amendment to remove 50% quota ceiling. Reservations for backward Muslim groups is based on empirical data," Mr Owaisi said in another tweet.
Sir @AmitShah
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
Modi allegedly says reach out to pasmanda…
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 23, 2023The assembly election in Telangana will be held later this year.
AdvertisementThe BJP-ruled Karnataka had recently scrapped the 4 per cent reservations for Muslims and decided to and distribute it equally between two dominant Hindu communities ahead of the May 10 assembly elections.
Criticising the decision, the Supreme Court earlier this month said the move appeared to be on a "highly shaky ground" and "flawed".
The court also noted that the Karnataka government's decision had exceeded the 50 per cent ceiling on reservations imposed by the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment in 1992.
The Karnataka government, led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, has defended its decision by saying that it was based on the recommendations of a commission that had examined the socio-economic status of various communities in the state.
