Owaisi slams Amit Shah over promise to scrap Muslim quota

Hyderabad, April 24 (IANS) 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 said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks of reaching out to backward Muslims, Shah is promising to remove their reservation.

"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.

Addressing a public meeting at Chevella near Hyderabad on Sunday evening, Shah had promised to do away with reservations for Muslims.

He called the quota for Muslims "anti-Constitutional" and 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 per cent 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 per cent quota for OBC Muslims.

Backward Muslims in Telangana also enjoy 4 per cent 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.

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.

The AIMIM chief alleged that except anti-Muslim hate speech, the 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.

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.