'Will preserve 4% reservation for Muslims': BJP's Andhra Pradesh ally TDP makes big announcement

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that if elected to power in the state, the party will provide 4 per cent reservation to Muslims in Andhra Pradesh. Naidu added that the TDP has actively worked for Muslim reservations in the state and that it is the party's obligation to fulfill its promises. 

"We will preserve the 4 per cent reservations for Muslims and will provide Rs 5,000 in financial assistance every month for mosque maintenance in the state," Naidu said at a Praja Galam meeting in Guntur. The former Andhra Pradesh CM has also promised to establish the Noor Basha Corporation and allocate Rs 100 crore per annum for it. 

He added that the TDP, if voted to power in Andhra Pradesh, will provide pensions for individuals belonging to the minority communities aged above 50. Chandrababu Naidu also promised that the TDP will allocate spaces for Eidgahs and graveyards in major towns for minorities. 

The former CM has also announced plans to offer financial assistance worth Rs 1 lakh to Muslims undertaking the Haj yatra and Rs 5 lakh in interest-free loans through a minority finance corporation.

He also mentioned that Imams and Maulanas will get honorariums worth Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively, which qualified Imams will be appointed as government Qazis. The TDP along with Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena and the BJP are NDA allies in the southern state.

BJP's stance on Muslim reservation

Chandrababu Naidu's stance on Muslim reservation is diametrically opposite to the BJP's stand on the issue. Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP will end the 4 per cent job reservations for Muslims in Telangana if the saffron party comes to power again at the Centre after winning the ongoing general polls.

He added that the reservation will be given to Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities instead. "The BJP has decided that they will end reservation for Muslims done by Congress and BRS in Telangana and make reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs," he said at a rally in the state. 

Telangana Lok Sabha polls 2024

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, voting across all 25 seats in the southern state will go to polls in a single phase on May 13. As part of a seat-sharing deal between NDA partners, the TDP was allotted 17 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP 10 and the Jana Sena 2.