Bharat Rashtra Samithi on Saturday pooh-poohed the announcement made by Union home minister Amit Shah that if the BJP is voted to power in Telangana, it would make a Backward Classes leader as the chief minister.
“The BJP is in a typical mindset. A BC leader has been removed as the State president and now they are declaring that a BC would be made CM. I fail to understand the BJP’s message,” BRS working president and state industries minister K T Rama Rao said.
He said it was Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who was fighting for the BC empowerment.
“KCR has been demanding that the Central government set up OBC Welfare Ministry. He submitted a representation to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 17, 2004, but nothing was done,” he said.
He also pointed out that the state government had adopted a resolution in the assembly and it was sent to the Central government on the conduct of BC census.
“But the BJP does not take up BC census,” he said.
KTR argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi hails from BC community, but it had not changed the fortunes of BCs in the country. “More than the post, the party’s policy is important,” he said.
KTR’s sister and BRS legislator Kalvakuntla Kavitha, too, took a dig at the BJP on its announcement on projecting a BC as CM candidate. She said the BJP has been inconsistent on the BC issues.
“The BJP removed their BC leader who was the state president and gave it to an OC. The BJP at centre refuses to conduct OBC caste census across India. BJP refuses to give reservation to OBC women. BJP refuses to form BC welfare ministry at the centre. BJP refuses to give a 33% OBC quota in parliament and assemblies. Now the same BJP says that they’ll make BC a CM…what I see is just another election gimmick,” she said.