KCR Reneging From 12% Muslim Quota Promise: Congress

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was readying to wash his hands off his poll promise of giving 12% reservation for Muslims.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, Reddy said he was doubtful about KCR's intentions on the quota issue. He said that if KCR was sincere about coming through, he should announce that the TRS would not seek votes from Muslims and STs if he failed to implement the promised 12% reservation for each of the two communities.

Reddy recalled that while addressing an election meeting on April 19, 2014, KCR had promised to implement the 12% Muslim quota within four months of coming to power. "As of today, the TRS government has completed three years, five months and nine days in power, but not a single poor Muslim has benefited from his promise. The bill for reservations for Muslims was passed in the Telangana assembly on April 16, 2017, and six months and 25 days later, KCR still says he will pressurize the Centre. We seriously doubt his intentions," Reddy said.

The TPCC chief also expressed mistrust over KCR's claim that the latter had spoken to Modi on the Muslim quota issue. He said that Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, as the then Union minister, had openly stated that Modi was against reservation on the basis of religion. Telangana BJP leaders, too, had stated the same, the TPCC chief said.

Reddy demanded that KCR give a clear deadline for the implementation of the 12% quota. He also announced that the Congress would launch a mass agitation on November 11 over the issue by the name "Walk For 12% Muslim Reservation", from Charminar to Gandhi Bhavan, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.