Muslim body seeks 8pc quota before Assembly elections in state

Hyderabad: The Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Joint Action Committee on Tuesday urged the government to allot at least 8 per cent reservation to Muslims before the next Assembly elections in Telangana.

A working group for the 12 per cent reservation Joint Action Committee for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh called upon the ruling party to fulfill its election promise of 12 per cent reservations for Muslims. "Eight years have passed since the formation of Telangana, but the promise of 12 per cent reservations for Muslims stands unfulfilled by the government. If not 12 per cent, the BRS must at least approve eight per cent reservation for Muslims," said Mushtaq Malik, JAC convener.

He questioned the government for ignoring Muslims and said, "the State government has increased the reservation quotas for STs from 6 to 10 per cent but no such announcement was made for Muslim reservations."

A representation by the TS AP JAC at a press conference called upon the government to provide "12% reservation to BC-E category which was promised in 2014. The then TRS government had assured the reservation in its election manifesto, but failed to implement or fulfill the promise", it said.

Malik said "reservation in jobs and education can help Muslims fight injustice they are facing in every walk of life." He questioned the lack of Muslim representation and appointment of Muslims in government departments and the Public Service Commission. He said the government has appointed 10 vice-chancellors in different universities, but none from the Muslim community.

Listing problems faced by the Muslim community, he said "a majority of Muslim students are school drop-outs. In the Greater Hyderabad region, where Muslim population is 46%, only 6% Muslims reach post-graduation level in Osmania University." The percentage is similar in employment.

"As far as education and healthcare are considered, minorities in the State, particularly Muslims, are lagging behind. According to a survey, of 12.5% Muslims in the State, only 4% are completely healthy. 96% of Muslims are suffering from one or other health problem", he said.

"Except the appointment of 66 Urdu officers, very little has been done by the government for the welfare of Muslims. Not even 4% Muslims are allotted 2BHK apartments by the government while only 1.43% Muslims have been able to secure gazetted officers posts in the State, he added.

Malik urged the government to "prioritise sanction of financial aid of Rs.1 lakh each to more than 2.16 lakh applicants which have been pending for a long time and help youth fight joblessness."

He said "we will visit Karimnagar, Jagtial and Siddipet and campaign to create awareness, garner support and remind the government about its reservation promises".