Hyderabad, April 27: Senior Congress leader and Telangana government advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir has condemned the statements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, targeting four percent reservation for Muslims in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The former minister said the then Congress government headed by Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had provided reservation not based on religion but on the basis of socio-economic backwardness.
He also threatened to file a contempt petition against both Modi and Shah for their provocative statements against the Muslim reservation.
Reacting strongly to Amit Shah’s announcement that BJP will scrap Muslim reservation and give it to SCs, STs and OBCs, Shabbir mentioned that the quota for 14 socially and economically backward classes among Muslims was provided without touching the quota of other sections.
Stating that the reservation is under implementation in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on a stay given by the Supreme Court, he said calling the Muslim reservation unconstitutional is a direct attack on the apex court.
Shabbir, who is advisor to the government on welfare of minorities, SCs, STs and BCs, said neither Modi nor Amit Shah can scrap the Muslim reservation as a final decision on it would be taken by the Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court.
The Congress leader also clarified that the Congress party is contesting Lok Sabha elections in Telangana on its own and it has no alliance with any party, including the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
The former minister made the clarification amid reports that Congress has an understanding with the AIMIM in Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency. Shabbir said the party has fielded its candidate from Hyderabad which shows that it is sincere in taking on AIMIM in the electoral contest.
The Congress has fielded Hyderabad district Congress committee president Sameer Waliullah as its candidate. Contrary to speculations that the Congress may field a non-Muslim candidate to divide anti-AIMIM votes, the Congress fielded a Muslim candidate.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi is seeking re-election from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat for a fifth consecutive term.
Shabbir along with AICC secretary Rohit Chowdhary inaugurated the election office of the Congress candidate.
Meanwhile, Sameer Waliullah has accused both AIMIM and BJP of using communal politics as a shield to cover up the backwardness in Hyderabad. He alleged that both AIMIM and BJP were trying to polarise the election campaign in Hyderabad. He said people got frustrated with the Hindu-Muslim rhetoric of both parties, which brought no development in Hyderabad. Both parties are demonising each other to make people vote out of fear. Instead, he said both parties should explain to the people what they did for the overall development of Hyderabad in the past.
“MIM should explain what it has done for Hyderabad since 1984. Similarly, the BJP should tell the people what its government at the Centre has done for Hyderabad in the last 10 years,” he said, adding that both parties never believed in accountability.
He strongly condemned the BJP and its Hyderabad candidate, Madhavi Latha, for her controversial statements and gestures to hurt the Muslim community. “On one side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is targetting Muslims by even calling them infiltrators. On the other side, the BJP candidate is trying to attract media attention so that she could create a Hindu-Muslim divide. Surprisingly, she is also roaming into some areas, seeking Muslim votes. She is also giving statements that Muslims should be thrown out of this country,” he said.
