Telengana clears bill increasing quota for Muslims amid BJP's protest

Hyderabad: Telangana Assembly on Sunday passed the Backward Class, SC & ST Reservation Bill, 2017, to increase quota for socially and economically backward classes among Muslims.

The Backward Class, SC & ST Reservation Bill, 2017, was passed in a special session of the Assembly, during which 5 BJP MLAs were suspended from the Assembly for protesting in the well of the House.

The members included BJP floor leader G Kishan Reddy, K Laxman, Raja Singh, NVSS Prabhakar and Chintala Ramachandra Reddy.

Expressing anger over the same, one of the suspended leaders K. Laxman said they will expose the government's real face.

"We will expose the real face of the government. When we raised the question asking why the government is silent on physically challenged and disabled people, they suspended us. We will go between the people, fight and teach the government a lesson," Laxman said.

Kishan Reddy on his part alleged that the Telangana Government was playing vote bank politics.

"The Chief Minister is feeling insecure after the big BJP win in Uttar Pradesh," he said.

The bill was introduced in the Assembly as per the TRS' election promise to make efforts to provide 12 per cent quota each for backward sections among Muslims and STs.

The state government would make efforts to realise the promise, though it required Centre's nod, as it was part of Telangana Rashtra Samiti's election manifesto, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had said earlier this week.

The state government would urge the Centre to take up the issue as the percentage of quotas would go beyond the 50 per cent cap, he had said.

The Centre would have to give its assent as 69 per cent quota is already under implementation in Tamil Nadu, he had said.

As the TRS government is exactly following the Tamil Nadu model, the increased reservations should be incorporated in the 9th Schedule of Constitution so that it cannot be questioned in court, he had said.

But the Opposition BJP had been strident in its opposition to the proposal, alleging that it is against the spirit of Constitution as it is "communal".

The Chief Minister, however, had asserted that the reservation is proposed to be given not on the basis of religion, but on the basis of backwardness.

Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had on Friday said the implementation of reservations on the basis of religion may result in social unrest in the country and "lead to creation of another Pakistan".

Speaking at a BJP meeting organised on the occasion of the Ambedkar Jayanti on , Naidu had also hinted that Telangana's proposal to hike reservations for certain sections may not be constitutionally valid.

"We are not opposing (reservation on religion basis) because KCR (Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao) wants to implement it," he said, adding, "The BJP opposed such a move even when Rajasekhara Reddy (late CM of united Andhra Pradesh) and Chandrababu Naidu (present CM) also tried to do that."

"We will oppose any such move because it will lead to creation of another Pakistan. It is an all India policy of the BJP. It is not the policy of Telangana unit of the BJP," he had said.

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohd Ali Shabbir on Saturday slammed the BJP for categorising the minorities quota as a "religious reservation".

"The BJP has given ten per cent quota to Patels in Gujarat. Is it not a religious reservation?" he asked.