Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu promised to preserve 4 per cent reservations to Muslims in the state,
“From the beginning, we are supporting 4% reservation and that will continue this…,” he said, speaking to ANI, on Sunday, May 4 in Dharmavaram.
The TDP chief’s stand on the issue is in stark contrast with the party’s ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been aggressively posturing against reservations to Muslims.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized that as long as he is alive, he will not allow reservations meant for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to be given to Muslims “under the guise of religion.”
The BJP has accused the Congress of repeatedly trying to introduce religion-based reservations for Muslims, including attempts to provide a 4.5% quota for Muslims within the 27% OBC reservation between 2004-2014.
The Congress manifesto for the 2024 elections states that the party will “ensure that the minorities receive their fair share of opportunities in education, health care, public employment, public works contracts, skill development, sports, and cultural activities without discrimination.”
This has been interpreted by the BJP as implying a push for Muslim reservations.
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi has stated that the Muslim reservations granted in some states were not based on religion, but on empirical studies of the social and educational backwardness of Muslim communities.
He has accused the BJP of spreading lies about Muslim reservations being unconstitutional.
