Centre won't accept inclusion of Muslims in Backward Classes by Telangana: Union Minister

Hyderabad: The Centre will not accept the Telangana government's move to include Muslims in the Backward Classes (BC) category, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar said on Saturday.

Telangana government recently announced plans to pass a bill in the Assembly to increase the reservation for OBCs to 42 per cent and send it to the Centre for parliamentary approval. The proposal would exceed the 50 per cent cap on reservations.

"We are very clear. The Centre will not accept the inclusion of 10 per cent of Muslims in the BC category. We oppose religion-based reservations," said Kumar, Union Minister of State for Home.

He stated that Muslims are already receiving benefits as minorities and under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category. "Backward classes would suffer in jobs, reservations, educational opportunities, budget allocations and other areas if Muslims are included in the BC category," he said.

He claimed that Muslims would win the seats reserved for BCs in the upcoming Telangana local body polls, as "their voting is one-sided. The February 27 poll for three MLC seats in the state will serve as a referendum on the issue", he said.

On February 12, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the state government would pressure the Centre to ensure that the bill passed in the Assembly receives parliamentary approval, as the proposed 42 per cent quota would breach the 50 per cent cap on reservations.

The state government, which conducted a caste survey between November and December stated that backward classes, including backward Muslims, make up 56.33 per cent of the state's population, forming the largest demographic group.

Telangana provides reservations for backward Muslims under the BC category.