HYDERABAD: Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Saturday questioned the poor representation given to BCs in the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy Cabinet.
Addressing a press conference after holding a meeting on enemy properties in the state in Hyderabad, the Union minister pointed out that there were only two BC ministers in Telangana though even the caste survey conducted by the government had said that 46% of the population belonged to backward communities. He also noted that during former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s tenure, a survey had revealed that BCs constituted 51% of the population.
Sanjay Kumar alleged discrepancies in the caste survey and claimed that there was widespread public anger against the Congress government for including Muslims in the BC list.
The Union minister reiterated that if the Muslim community was included in the BC list and the reservation proposal was sent to the Centre, it would not be accepted. “The BJP is against reservations based on religion. The Congress is deliberately creating drama about this. The public and BC organisations are aware of this,” he stated.
He accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of making baseless comments about the prime minister’s caste to divert public attention from this issue.
The Union minister further wondered what Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s caste was.”If we have to discuss Modi’s caste, then first Rahul’s caste, religion, and ancestry should also be discussed,” he said and added that Rahul’s grandfather was Feroze Khan while mother Sonia Gandhi is a Christian and originally from Italy. “So, which caste is Rahul Gandhi promoting? He has no caste, religion, or community,” he claimed.
‘There were 27 BC ministers in 2014 Modi Cabinet’
The minister emphasised that the PM is from a BC community. In 1994, the Congress government in Gujarat officially included Modi’s caste in the BC list, he said, adding, “When Modi became PM, the entire BC, poor upper castes and Dalit communities celebrated.” He highlighted that the PM included 27 BC ministers, 12 Dalits and eight from the ST community in his first Cabinet.
‘Raja Singh is with us’
The BJP leader further addressed remarks by party MLA T Raja Singh regarding the Golconda-Goshamahal district president appointment and said, “In the last elections, the party announced that a BC leader would be made CM. Similarly, I was appointed state president. BC leader K Laxman was given a Rajya Sabha seat and a position in the Parliamentary Board.”
He emphasised that positions are allocated as per party rules and urged that internal discussions if there were any objections rather than public protests.
“Raja Singh is with us. I spoke to him on Friday, and I will continue to speak with him because he is our party leader,” Bandi added.
Minister reviews enemy properties
The MoS held a review meeting on enemy properties, assessing progress since his last review in November. The discussion focused on enemy properties in Rangareddy, particularly in Kotwalguda and Miyapur. Officials reported instances of encroachment and farmer occupation. The minister emphasised ensuring justice for farmers who had possessed the land for years while also preventing further encroachment on government property. He directed officials to complete the survey and record verification by the end of March and submit a report. The also government plans to establish Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI) branch offices in various states reducing dependence on the Mumbai office.