Hyderabad: Politics in Telangana is heating up over the issue of reservation as the Congress government plans to pass a bill in the state legislature next month to enhance reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) to 42 percent as promised by the Congress party in 2023 Assembly elections.
As the proposed move would mean that total reservations will go far beyond the Supreme Court ceiling of 50 percent, the Congress party wants to put the ball in the Centre’s court by forwarding the bill for its approval.
The Congress party is attempting to corner the BJP by challenging it to prove its commitment to BC welfare by passing a Constitutional amendment to allow the state to enhance overall reservations beyond 50 percent.
The ruling party wants to hit two birds with one stone as the bill would also help it counter Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which have been trying to build pressure on the state government to fulfil its election promise.
Congress is doing what the TRS (now BRS) government did in 2017 by passing a bill and forwarding it to the Centre to increase reservations for Muslims from 4 percent to 12 percent and for Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 6 percent to 10 percent. The Centre did not give its assent on the ground that it was against reservation based on religion.
The BJP is once again playing the same card to counter the Congress party. The party leaders have made it clear that including Muslims in the list of BCs is unacceptable to them.
Political analysts say the entire exercise of discussing and passing the bill will turn into a fierce spat among the three parties with every party blaming the two others. The bill is likely to propose enhancing reservations for BCs from the existing 25 percent (excluding Muslims) in education and employment to 42 percent.
The Congress has also announced that it will increase the representation of BCs in local bodies to 42 percent from the existing 23 percent. This was the major promise made by Congress in the ‘BC declaration’ announced in the Assembly elections.
The issue of BC reservation hit the spotlight after the Congress government conducted a caste survey, which revealed that BCs constitute 56.33 percent (including 10 percent BC Muslims). Both BRS and BJP raised doubts about the survey and demanded Congress to explain why the BC population declined from 61 percent (as per an integrated household survey of 2014) to 56.33 percent.
Under fire from the opposition, the Congress went on backfoot by announcing that a second round of survey would be conducted this month to cover 3.1 percent of the population who were not covered during the exercise earlier.
However, BRS leader K Kavitha said even after the second round of the survey, the BC population may increase by 1.5 to 2 percent. The BRS MLC, who had been demanding that Congress fulfil its promise of 42 percent reservation for BCs, has now started demanding reservation in proportion to the population. “If there are 48 percent BCs, on what basis would 42 percent reservation be provided,” she asked.
Kavitha also demanded that Congress should also provide reservations to Muslims in proportion to their population. As per the caste survey, Muslims constitute 12.56 percent of the state’s population. While 10.08 percent of Muslims are BC Muslims, the remaining 2.48 percent are Other Caste (OC) Muslims.
Backward groups among Muslims currently enjoy 4 percent reservations in education and employment. They are categorised as BC (E).
The BJP is trying to counter Congress by raking up the issue of Muslim reservation. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar has gone to the extent of warning that the entire Hindu society would revolt if Muslims were included among BCs.
The BJP, which had promised in Assembly elections that if voted to power it would scrap Muslim reservation, is targeting both Congress and BRS for what it calls appeasement policy. “Including Muslims in the BC category will deprive BCs of their rightful reservations. If Muslims are included in BCs, the entire Hindu society will revolt. Congress will face consequences in the MLC elections. If Congress is sincere, it must remove Muslims from the BC list,” said Bandi Sanjay, who is a Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar.
The Congress government headed by YS Rajasekhar Reddy in undivided Andhra Pradesh had provided 5 percent reservation for Muslims in 2005 but as the court struck it down for breaching the 50 percent barrier of reservation for all segments, it slashed the quota for Muslims by one percent.
After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the governments in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh continued the implementation of 4 percent reservation for backward Muslims in education and public employment. By passing a bill for 42 percent BC reservation, Congress is also looking to turn it into a national issue in tune with its demand for a Constitutional amendment to provide reservation beyond 50 percent ceiling.
The Congress may also enhance the reservations for SCs and STs along with BCs. It may propose to increase reservations for SCs to 17 percent from the existing 10 percent. As per the caste survey, SCs constitute 17.43 percent of the total population.
The government may also propose enhancing reservations for STs to 10 percent from the existing 6 percent. The caste survey has put the ST population at 10.45 percent. The enhanced reservations for BCs, SCs, and STs may take the overall quota to about 66-67 percent. After the state Legislature passes the bill, it will be sent to the President of India for her assent, with a request to include it in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution as was done in the case of Tamil Nadu.
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