BJP ally N Chandrababu Naidu promises 4% Muslim reservation in Andhra Pradesh

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N Chandrababu Naidu has promised to implement 4% reservation for Muslims in Andhra Pradesh upon winning the assembly elections.

Naidu, a former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  party TDP is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and is contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and Andhra Pradesh assembly elections together.

Naidu’s promise of reservation for Muslims comes at a time when the BJP has strongly refuted it so far. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that he will not allow Muslim reservation to be implemented.

“They [Congress] want to insult the Constitution for their vote bank, but I want them to know, till the time I am alive, I will not let them give the reservation meant for Dalits, SCs, STs, and OBCs to the Muslims in the name of religion,” said Modi at a rally in Telangana’s Zaheerabad.

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‘We’ve supported Muslim reservation since beginning’

Even as the BJP has rejected the idea of reservation for Muslims, party’s ally Naidu has said that the TDP has always supported it.

“From the beginning, we are supporting a four per cent reservation for Muslims and that will continue,” said Naidu while speaking to reporters in Dharmavaram of Andhra Pradesh, as per India Today.

Separately, last week, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Naidu said, “Poverty remains high among Muslims today. It is our responsibility to help them at such a time. In this order we will save 4% percentage reservation for Muslims. There is no other thought in it. #TDPWithMuslims”

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ఈరోజు ముస్లింలలో పేదరికం ఎక్కువగానే ఉంది. ఇలాంటి సమయంలో వారికి చేయూత ఇవ్వడం మన బాధ్యత. ఈ క్రమంలో ముస్లింలకు 4% శాతం రిజర్వేషన్ ను కాపాడతాం. అందులో వేరే ఆలోచనే లేదు. #TDPWithMuslims pic.twitter.com/TURnTSou7r

— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) April 28, 2024

Previously, Naidu also said that he will ensure Rs 1 lakh to every Muslim for Hajj pilgrimage upon coming to power.

“Soon after the NDA comes to power in the state, Rs 1 lakh financial assistance will be extended to every Muslim who visits Mecca on the Haj pilgrimage,” said Naidu.

In Andhra Pradesh, the Lok Sabha and assembly elections will take place simultaneously on May 13. The BJP is in an alliance with Naidu’s TDP and actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena in the state under the banner of NDA.

NDA manifesto skips Muslim reservation, BJP has slammed it

Even as Naidu has promised Muslim reservation, the NDA’s manifesto for Andhra Pradesh has made no mention of it, according to India Today.

Instead, the manifesto focused on promises like Rs 1,500 per month in pension for women aged 19-59, 20 lakh jobs for youth or Rs 3,000 per month unemployment allowance, and free bus travel for women.

Senior leaders of the BJP, including PM Modi, have repeatedly criticised the calls of reservation for Muslims. They have stressed that the Constitution does not allow reservation on grounds of religion.

In an interview with CNN-News 18, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier this week criticised the opposition for misleading the Muslim community on the issue of Muslim reservations.

He said, “Religion-based reservation is not there in the Constitution. How will you give it? You are talking about the Constitution and you are also misleading the Muslim community by promising reservation on the basis of religion. How is this possible? How will you give it?”

Separately, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly asserted that the reservation for Muslims is unconstitutional and that Congress has “illegally imposed” such a policy. He further said that the reservation for Muslims eats into the quotas meant for scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), and other backward classes (OBCs).

“Our Constitution does not agree with reservation based on religion. Our constitution has no provision for reservation based on religion. Congress has illegally imposed a reservation for appeasement politics that has given reservation to Muslims based on religion, cutting into the reservation of ST, SC, and OBC, and they are saying that we are lying, so I want them to clarify to the nation’s public. We will not do reservations based on religion, what is the fear,” said Shah in an interview with Times Now.