JEDDAH, 22 March — A newly formed regional party in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), has assured a 10 percent reservation of government jobs for Muslims and other economically backward communities as part of its campaign for statehood for Telangana. “We’ve initiated a campaign for the creation of Telangana state by bifurcating the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. We’re confident Telangana will get statehood because the BJP-led government at the center is in favor of bifurcating big states” M. Mazharuddin Ali, general secretary of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), said recently. “TRS formed a year ago is campaigning for statehood for Telangana and its proposal has received popular support,” said Mazharuddin who returned home recently after performing his Haj. He said, “In the proposed state, we plan to reserve 10 percent of jobs to minorities, which include Muslims, Christians and Sikhs,” he said.
