Telengana’s Muslim quota bill may not get Centre’s assent
Dropping clear hints that the proposed bill likely to be passed by State Assembly on April 16 to provide 12 pc reservation to Muslims will not get Centre’s assent, M Venkaiah Naidu has said.
Published: 15th April 2017 05:15 AM | Last Updated: 15th April 2017 06:22 AM | A+A A-
Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu (File | PTI)
HYDERABAD: Dropping clear hints that the proposed bill likely to be passed by State Assembly on April 16 to provide 12 pc reservation to Muslims will not get Centre’s assent, Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu has categorically said that NDA government at the Centre is against providing reservation to anybody based on their religion.
“Reservation based on religion will lead to social unrest in society. Such move also paves way for formation of another Pakistan. Therefore, our government won’t allow religion-based reservation which is against constitutional norms. It is BJP’s national policy and not the policy of party’s Telangana state unit,” he said.
The Union minister said such reservation would divide people on lines of religion and lead to communal tensions. “Such a move will cause disunity among people,” he said.
Senior leaders of the state BJP including Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya, state unit chief K Laxman and MLA G Kishan Reddy, along with Venkaiah Naidu, had a detailed meeting over this issue at the state party office here on Friday soon after celebrating the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar.
Addressing mediapersons later, Venkaiah Naidu indirectly found fault with state government’s proposal to provide 12 per cent reservation to Muslims, saying that his party supports reservation to those who are in the lower strata of society.
“Ambedkar vehemently opposed reservation based on religion. He wanted reservation to be used as a tool for uplifting downtrodden people. No political party can oppose Ambedkar’s viewpoints,” Naidu said and recalled that his party had opposed the then YS Rajasekhara Reddy government’s efforts in the erstwhile united state to provide reservation to Muslims.
BJP is considering the idea of organising a massive rally in Hyderabad on April 16 when the special session of the state Assembly will be held to pass the bill to provide 12 pc reservation to Muslims.
