HYDERABAD: AIMIM president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that both the Congress and the BJP were opposing the State government’s support for Muslim startup founders and entrepreneurs in Telangana. Reacting to Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar’s remarks, Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted on Monday: “Dear @DKShivakumar, you have not heard of many things, doesn’t mean that they are impossible. If youth, children and women don’t have any caste, why is your leader promising caste census? The truth is that Muslims, BCs, SCs & STs face disadvantages that dominant castes don’t.”
“In Telangana, Muslim minorities are not just voters, but full citizens. This is why they will get a fair share in the state’s progress. Providing them with support to start their businesses ensures that they are job creators & not just job-seekers. They aren’t getting anything solely based on religion but on the basis of empirical data of backwardness. Data shows that Muslims face discrimination in getting loans for businesses, they face discrimination in private sector employment & that they’re forced to live on daily wages in the informal sector,” he said.
Asaduddin tweeted: “@TSIICLtd already has a policy of reserving 12% of industrial plot allotments to SCs. The Sudheer Commission Report had recommended that the same policy should be extended to backward Muslims. It doesn’t mean an EXCLUSIVE IT Park where ONLY Muslims work, but it definitely means that special support is provided to them so that they can overcome the discrimination that they face. Good to know that you have shown your real anti-Muslim face. Please tell us if the quota for backward Muslims in Karnataka will be brought back or if they should give it up”. (sic)