Quota For Muslims To Be Created Using Tamil Nadu Model: KCR

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao stated in the Assembly today that the proposed reservations for Muslims would not be given on the basis of religion, but would be done in a way that would survive judicial scrutiny.

He also said that the reservations would be introduced by conducting a special session within a week's time, in a process similar to the one followed by Tamil Nadu (which has 69% reservations as against the Supreme Court mandated cap of 49%).

Replying to the members' doubts as part of a debate on the Appropriation Bill on Monday in the Assembly, KCR said that the state government would ask the Centre and the Supreme Court to accord reservations to the Muslims along the lines of the Tamil Nadu model.

Rao said that there was a need to increase the reservations for the BCs. He said that the state government would not give reservations on the basis of religion, but would increase the existing reservations percentage to benefit tribals and minorities, as per the assurances in the TRS' manifesto.

Rao reiterated that Telangana ranked first in the country in welfare, and as examples mentioned the following:

1. The government was giving financial assistance to single women and providing superfine rice to the students staying in welfare hostels
2. While the previous governments had failed to give beedi workers their due credit, the current state government was giving Rs 1,000 each for 3.7 lakh beedi workers. The government would also give pensions to the 81,000 beedi workers who were not getting pensions since one of the members in the families of each of them was receiving pension already.
3. The government had increased the amount for the Shadi Mubarak and Kalyana Lakshmi schemes from Rs 51,000 to Rs 75,000
4. The government had cleared the loans of farmers worth Rs 17,000 crores.

The CM also said that the government had announced the kickoff of the free double bedroom houses scheme only after concluding that the state's financial condition was good enough, and that it would complete the double bedroom houses at any cost.