KCR restates commitment to quota for Muslims

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday said reservations for poor Muslims in proportion to their population in the state would be implemented on the lines of quotas in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The chief minister reviewed the working of a commission of inquiry constituted by the government in March to study the socio-economic and educational status of Muslims in the state and recommend increase in the quantum of reservation for the community.

Muslims in Telangana currently enjoy four percent reservation in education and employment. KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, said that Muslims are about 12 percent of the state's population and a majority of them are poor. KCR's Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had promised 12 percent reservations to Muslims during the elections held last year.

During the meeting, the chief minister noted that many Muslim families don't even earn Rs.1,000 a month. "I had promised during the elections that a change will be brought in the living conditions of Muslims and I will 100 percent fulfil this promise," a statement by the chief minister's office quoted him as saying.

KCR named Amirullah Khan and Abdul Shaban as the members of the commission. They were members of Kundu committee or the post Sachar evaluation committee which submitted its report to the central government in December last year. As announced in March by the Telangana government, the commission will be headed by retired IAS officer G. Sudhir. M. A. Bari was named as a member.

The review meeting held on Monday was attended by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Sudhir, Amirullah Khan, Abdul Shaban, and Minority Welfare Secretary Syed Omer Jaleel. It was decided to hold a meeting of the full commission in August to chalk out its plan to complete the task assigned to it.

The review meeting discussed on how the commission should carry out the study. It discussed the methods adopted by Sachar Committee, Kund Committee and Rahman Committee of Maharashtra. The chief minister said the study should be indepth and scientific. He said the commission should visit three to four constituencies in each district and interact with Muslims in both urban and rural areas to know their socio-economic conditions. He suggested that the commission take pictures and videos of the same.

KCR said after completion of the study, the government will formulate short, medium and long-term programmes for the development of Muslims. He said the TRS government enhanced budget allocations for minorities, announced 'Shaadi Mubarak' scheme and set up hostels. "There is much more to be done. After the receipt of the report of the commission of inquiries, special programmes will be implemented for Muslims," he added.