HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI, 19 July 2004 — The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh decried the BJP’s threat to launch a nation-wide stir against the five percent reservations for Muslims in the state.
Speaking to newsmen in Hyderabad on Saturday, Information and Public Relations Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir termed BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu’s opposition to the five percent quota for the backward Muslims as “unfortunate” and said the saffron party’s move to unleash a nationwide agitation smacked of its return to “Hindutva” agenda after losing power at the center.
He wondered how the BJP, an ally of Telugu Desam Party and a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance, was opposing the reservations for backward Muslims while the Telugu Desam itself had promised three percent quota for Muslims in employment and educational institutions. The TDP has welcomed the reservations announced by the Congress government.
“The BJP did not object to Chandrababu Naidu’s promise and did not protest against it. The BJP campaigned on the poll plank of the TDP in the state. Now, when the Congress has fulfilled its poll promise to the minorities, the BJP is back to its anti-Muslim stance. The BJP’s attitude goes against the NDA’s commitment to address the twin issues of economic and educational backwardness of the Muslims,” he pointed out.
Shabbir recalled that the Gopal Singh Commission, which went into the socio-economic and educational backwardness of Muslims, had pointed out that the dropout rate among Muslim students was 60 percent by the 7th class and 80 percent by the 10th class.
He said the constitution provided for reservations for educationally and socio-economically disadvantaged sections and backward sections among Muslims deserved reservations for their upliftment. Moreover, the five percent reservations announced for Muslims by the AP government would not affect the interests of other backward classes or sections of society.
He pointed out that other southern states were implementing similar quotas for the backward Muslims. Kerala provided 11 percent reservations while Tamil Nadu and Karnataka earmarked six percent and four percent reservations respectively for backward Muslims.
He contended that the 50 percent cap on reservations for all categories of weaker sections was not at all statutory. The Supreme Court’s observations on the issue constituted an advice rather than a directive. Moreover, the overall reservations were as high as 69 percent in Tamil Nadu and 61 percent in Karnataka.
