Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, stated on Thursday that Muslims will not be accepted in the Backward Class (BC) list, warning of potential backlash from Hindu society if such a move is implemented. He argued that including Muslims in the BC category would deprive other BC communities of their rightful reservations.
Kumar’s remarks were in response to the Congress government in Telangana passing a bill proposing 42% reservations for BCs, which is now awaiting approval from the Centre. He criticized Congress for attempting to introduce religious-based reservations and accused the party of lacking sincerity in implementing BC quotas.
Currently, backward sections among Muslims in Telangana receive 4% reservations under the BC E category. Kumar insisted that Congress should fulfill its promise of 42% reservations for BCs without including Muslims, warning that failing to do so would lead to political consequences in the upcoming MLC elections.
Additionally, Kumar criticized the Congress-led Telangana government for delaying local body elections, accusing it of violating constitutional mandates and halting village development programs.