The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has defended its stand on Muslim reservation.

TDP leader Nara Lokesh has dubbed reservation for Muslims as “social justice” and has rejected the idea that it’s a tool of appeasement.

After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to get a majority of its own, the TDP emerged as a kingmaker for the formation of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the centre. The TDP has also won the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections.

During the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, the TDP had promised 4 per cent reservation for Muslims. Meanwhile, TDP ally BJP had categorically rejected the reservation on the basis of religion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he will never allow reservation for Muslims.

‘It’s nothing but social justice’

Despite the stance of senior NDA partner BJP, Lokesh has defended the party’s position on Muslim reservation as it “being nothing but social justice”.

In an interview with NDTV, Lokesh said the Muslims had the lowest per capita income and that no one should be left behind in the nation’s development.

“It’s a fact that the minorities continue to suffer and that they have the lowest per capita income. As a government, it is my responsibility to bring them out of poverty. So whatever decisions I take are not for appeasement, but to bring them out of poverty,” said Lokesh, the General Secretary of TDP and the son of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

Lokesh further said, “If you want to make our nation a developed nation, we cannot leave anyone behind. We should do it together and there is a great opportunity to do it. It has been the trademark of the TDP, to take everyone together.”

During the elections, Naidu had said the TDP’s support for the reservation of Muslims will continue.

“From the beginning, we are supporting a four per cent reservation for Muslims and that will continue,” said Naidu to reporters in Dharmavaram.

Separately, Naidu said in a post on X (formerly Twitter): “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”

BJP has rejected Muslim reservations

Throughout the election cycle, the top leaders of the BJP, including Modi, categorically rejected the reservations for Muslims.

Modi went on to say that there will be no reservations for Muslims as long as he was alive.

“They (Congress) are the people who stop the functioning of the Parliament, they question the Election Commission, they question the EVM, and now for their vote bank, they are insulting the constitution… 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 Medak district.

Separately, senior party leaders Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah have dubbed it unconstitutional and have said it eats into the share of reservation for the 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.

Similarly, Rajnath questioned how you could give reservation to Muslims when the constitution does not mention it.

“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?” said Singh in an interview with CNN-News 18.

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‘It’s nothing but social justice’: BJP ally TDP defends Muslim reservation