Member of Parliament from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday demanded that Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao enhance the quota for backward Muslims from the existing 4%.
Mr. Owaisi was speaking at an event at the headquarters of the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in Darussalaam, where he cited the report of the Telangana government-appointed G. Sudheer Committee. The Committee studied the socio-economic conditions of Muslims in Telangana and submitted its report to the State government in 2016.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president stated that the Committee after studying the backwardness of the Muslim community had recommended an enhancement of quota of 9% to 12%.
Quoting from the report, Mr. Owaisi said that the highest dropout rate is seen among Muslims and pointed out that a paucity of funds to pay for education remains the primary reason for this. He also said that 16% of Muslims have never been to an educational institution, only 5% complete intermediate and 10% get bank loans. He also said that only 1.43% of Muslims are gazetted officers.
Mr. Owaisi touched upon how the 4% quota for Muslims is being heard in the Apex Court, and demanded that the Telangana government put in place a strong team to put forward its case for the protection of these reservations.
