Amit Shah hits out religion-based reservations terms them “unconstitutional”.

Amit Shah hits out religion-based reservations
terms them “unconstitutional”.

Ahead of the assembly election in Telangana to be held later this year, Union Minister Amit Shah on Sunday vowed to scrap the reservations for Muslims in Telangana if the BJP forms the government in the state.

Amidst addressing a rally at Chevella near Hyderabad, Amit Shah hit-out at the religion-based reservations and terming them “unconstitutional”.

He went on to add that the party will do away with the 4 per cent Muslim quota in the event of BJP coming to power in Telangana, and offering the right to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and other backward communities. That this right is of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBC.

The home minister lashed out at the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government, alleging corruption in several projects and the the BJP’s fight will never cease till such time “corrupt” regime is “dethroned.”

He also alleged that the welfare measures extended by the centre for Telangana are not reaching the poor.

Amit Shah also came down heavily on the K.Chandrasekhar government and accused them for the implementation of the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM “agenda” in the state.

Adding further that 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.

Hitting 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”.

Adding further he 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 & bulldozers.
He quizzed Why do you hate people of Telangana so much?”

Countering Owaisi asked “If Shah is serious on 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,”

The BJP-ruled Karnataka reportedly had recently scrapped the 4 per cent reservations for Muslims and decided to distribute it equally amidst two dominant Hindu communities ahead of the May 10 assembly elections.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court, while Criticising the decision, 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.

News input KV Raman