Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy recently made a remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him a “legally converted BC.” This statement has drawn sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy condemned the comment, calling it highly irresponsible. He pointed out that some castes were recognized as Backward Classes only after 1970 in undivided Andhra Pradesh. He questioned whether Revanth Reddy would also claim that those communities were not truly Backward Classes.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar stated that the central government would not accept Telangana’s proposal to include Muslims in the Backward Classes (BC) category. His statement comes after the Telangana government announced plans to introduce a bill in the Assembly to increase reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to 42 percent and seek approval from Parliament.
However, this proposal would exceed the Supreme Court’s 50 percent cap on reservations. Bandi Sanjay made it clear that the Centre strongly opposes religion-based reservations. “We are very clear—the Centre will not accept the inclusion of 10 percent of Muslims in the BC category,” he told reporters. He added that state BJP leaders would urge the central leadership to approve the bill only if Muslims were removed from the BC list.
Bandi Sanjay argued that adding Muslims to the BC category would harm the existing Backward Classes by reducing their opportunities in jobs, education, reservations, and budget allocations. He pointed out that Muslims already receive benefits under the minority category and the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota.
He also expressed concerns about the upcoming local body elections in Telangana. According to him, Muslims could dominate the BC-reserved seats because of their voting pattern. He claimed that even Other Castes (OCs) oppose including Muslims in the BC category, as it could negatively impact the BC community. He further stated that the February 27 elections for three MLC seats in the state would serve as a referendum on this issue.
