Hyderabad: Following the state cabinet’s decision to accept recommendations by two Commissions to increase the reservation quota for economically backward sections of the Muslim minority and Scheduled Tribes in Telangana, the total reservation in the state is likely to go up to 60 per cent, officials say.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, while briefing journalists about the decisions, announced the cabinet would again meet on Saturday evening to take a final call on the scale of reservation increase for both groups.

While he referred to his party’s election promise of increasing the quota for both the BC (E), or economically backward Muslims, and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) to 12 per cent each, informed sources said that final decision may be less than that.

The BC (E) category may get another 6 per cent, taking its total reservation to 10 per cent, while STs may get a hike of another 4 per cent taking their total quota to 11.5 per cent.

After the formation of Telangana state, KCR said, its social composition underwent changes.

He said of the 36 million population in the state, 90 per cent comprised of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and the minorities.

“The reservations should also reflect this social composition,” he said.

Accordingly the state was also planning to review the total reservation for the backward classes from the current 25 per cent to 30 per cent or more.

This was aimed at blunting the criticism by the BJP and reassuring the BCs that the reservation for the backward sections of Muslim minority was not at their cost, he said.

“Not even one per cent reservation of the BCs will be affected due to this because the BC (E) reservation will be completely separate”, KCR said urging the opposition to stop misleading propaganda.

The cabinet has given a new terms of reference to the State Backward Classes Commission for an in-depth study of the socio economic conditions of the Backward Classes and the Most Backward Classes in the state. After extensively visiting all the districts of the state the Commission will submit its findings to the government in six to seven months after which the government will take up the issue of increasing the BCs reservation from present 25 per cent.

At the same time KCR said the population of the scheduled castes has gone up to 16.3 per cent after the formation of Telangana state and there was a need for revising their quota too.

On the whole, KCR said there was a need for overhauling the entire reservation quota in the state keeping in view of the social composition of the newly formed Telangana state.

“The states should have full right to increase the reservations based on the socio economic conditions of the local communities”, the chief minister said adding that the Center cannot discriminate against Telangana while allowing other states to have more than 60 or 70 or even 80 per cent total quota.

After the cabinet meeting on Saturday, the special session of the state Assembly will be held on Sunday to discuss and pass the Telangana State Reservation Bill 2017.

The government has requested the speaker to summon the special session and the arrangements were being made.

While the State Backaward Classes Commission headed by B S Ramulu has recommended 12 per cent reservation for BC E category, S Chellappa Commission has recommended 12 per cent reservations for the Scheduled Tribes based on their socio economic condition.

Pointing out that this was a major election promise made in the TRS manifesto, KCR said that recently the Chief Justice of India had also come down heavily on the political parties for not keeping their promises. “In fact it will be wrong on our part if we don’t implement this promise”, KCR said.

He said that the Telangana State Reservation Bill will be on the model of Tamil Nadu where 69 per cent reservation was in implementation for the last 32 years.

Similarly he listed out that Jharkhand had 60 per cent reservation, Maharashtra 52 per cent and four north east states had 80 per cent reservations. He pointed out that the Supreme Court had allowed some states to have more 50 per cent reservations for the benefit of the scheduled castes. Seven states including West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana already have reservations for the economically and educationally backward sections of Muslims, he said.

In view of Gujjar and Jat agitation in Rajasthan, the state assembly passed a resolution to increase the total reservation in the state to 68 per cent and it was sent to Center for the Presidential consent, KCR said.

KCR asserted that what his government was doing was fulfilling the promises made in the election manifesto on the basis of which the people had given it the clear mandate and majority to form the government.

“In fact it will be wrong if we don’t take this step after making the promise to the people that we will give 12 per cent reservations to the backward groups of Muslim minority and the scheduled tribes”, he said.

Without taking the name of the BJP, he said that some political parties were indulging in false and misleading propaganda on the issue. “I strongly condemn it. It is better if they (opponents) also reconcile to the fact”, he said.

“We are doing nothing new. The state already has 4 per cent reservations for the backward Muslims. We are not giving communal reservation. It is in accordance with the constitution on the basis of economic, educational and political backwardness”, he said.

He also rejected the allegation that increase in the quota will be at the cost of the other backward classes. “Not one per cent reservation of the BCs will be decreased”, he said.

Terming it a historic day, KCR said that after the formation of Telangana, social composition of the state was such that the BCs, SCs, STs and minorities constitute 90 per cent of the population.

“Muslims under BC E category are more. Scheduled Tribes are more. During the struggle for Telangana state itself I had said that their ratio in population will go up after the formation of the new state and we will have to increase their reservation. As a government it is our responsibility to do it”, KCR recalled.

He reminded the critics that during the 2014 election campaign in all his 107 public meetings he had promised 12 per cent reservations for backward sections of Muslims and SCs. The same thing was said by all the TRS candidates in the assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies. “After carefully listening to all these promises the people gave us the clear mandate and majority to form the government”, KCR said.

He said that to fulfil the promise the state government had constitute Sudhir Committee and Chellappa Commission and later state backward classes commission. Now the report of the commissions were discussed and accepted by the cabinet, he said.