Tue Feb 18 13:16:20 UTC 2025: **Telangana Minister Accuses BJP of Spreading Falsehoods About Muslim OBC Inclusion**

HYDERABAD, February 18, 2025 – Telangana’s advisor for SC, ST, OBC, and Minorities Welfare, Mohammed Ali Shabbir, has accused the BJP of deliberately misleading the public regarding the inclusion of Muslims in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Shabbir held a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday, refuting BJP claims that the Congress government in Telangana recently added Muslims to the OBC list.

He stated that the BJP’s allegations are designed to create communal discord and incite non-Muslim OBCs against the Congress. Shabbir directly criticized Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, and Rajya Sabha MP K. Lakshman, highlighting the hypocrisy of their claims given that BJP-led governments at both the national and state levels have also recognized Muslim communities as OBCs for decades.

Shabbir presented historical reports and government records to support his claim that Muslim communities have been included in the OBC list for many years, irrespective of the ruling party. He offered to provide these documents to the BJP leaders and even meet them personally to clarify the matter. He criticized the BJP leaders for their ignorance, accusing them of spreading fear among non-Muslim OBCs by falsely claiming that the 4% reservation for Muslim OBCs (under a separate Group E quota) reduces their opportunities. Shabbir emphasized that this separate quota does not impact the share allocated to non-Muslim OBCs.

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