Hyderabad, May 4: Amid the ongoing row over BJP’s promise to scrap reservation for Muslims in states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has come out in support of Muslim quota.
The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president defended the four percent reservation enjoyed by Muslims in jobs and education in the state and asked whether it is moral to play politics on it and mess with their lives.
Jagan Mohan Reddy, whose father and then chief minister of combined Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had provided reservation for Muslims, stated that this quota is not based on religion. He argued that this reservation is purely on the basis of backwardness.
“I boldly assert this today. The 4% reservation for Muslims must remain intact. This is my firm stance,” he said at an election rally in Nellore on Saturday.
“I am questioning the BJP, and other opposing parties. All religions have BCs and OCs. These reservations are given to the backward class, subject to the Constitution. Is it moral to play politics on such reservations and mess with their lives?,” he asked.
Jagan Mohan Reddy assured that YSRCP will also support minorities on issues of National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
He came down heavily on Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu over his double standards on the issue of Muslim reservation.
Jagan asked how Naidu, who has joined hands with BJP, could give an assurance to Muslims that he will protect the reservation.
He dared Chandrababu Naidu to spell out his stand on the issue before Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said that on one hand, Chandrababu Naidu joined hands with the BJP, which promises to end reservation for Muslims while on the other he is resorting to a deceitful act of false affection towards Muslims to secure their votes.
“Will Chandrababu dare to voice this before Modi? Will he disassociate himself from the NDA?,” Jagan asked.
Chandrababu Naidu recently assured Muslims that it will protect four percent reservation in the state.
The TDP, who is contesting the May 13 elections to state Assembly and Lok Sabha in alliance with the BJP and Jana Sena, is assuring the community that there is no threat to the four cent quota for Muslim in jobs and employment.
Naidu even promised that if TDP is voted to power Rs 1 lakh financial assistance will be extended to every Muslim for Haj pilgrimage. Naidu is trying to woo Muslims, who constitute 7 percent of the state’s population. As Muslims believed to have moved away from TDP after it re-joined the NDA, Naidu is trying to assure the community that he joined the alliance only for the state’s development.
Chandrababu stated that though TDP was part of NDA even in the past, it never allowed any kind of injustice to be done to the community.
The TDP president also targeted YSRCP over extending unconditional support for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Parliament. He also claimed that YSRCP backed the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
