Revanth Reddy challenged Amit Shah to remove Telangana's four per cent minority reservation. He asserted Congress's commitment to minority rights while accusing regional parties of aiding the BJP.Revanth Reddy addressing members of Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Hyderabad.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday said the Congress was the only party standing up to the BJP, while regional parties often compromised with or aligned themselves with the ruling party at the Centre, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Speaking at an event to mark National Education Day and Minorities Welfare Day, Reddy said the Congress had introduced four per cent reservation for minorities in the state and challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to remove the quota.‘Minorities are tied up with regional parties everywhere, but the Congress alone fights against the BJP,’ he said. ‘The Congress will never join the BJP. The Congress alone will fight against the BJP in the country.

Any other political party may join hands with them.’Taking a swipe at Bharat Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao, Reddy said the ‘car’, the BRS symbol, turned into the ‘lotus’, the BJP symbol, in Delhi. ‘Rao and his family are kneeling before PM Modi,’ he alleged. The chief minister cautioned minority voters against being influenced by Rao's fluency in Urdu, calling it a ‘political ploy’. ‘Minorities show willingness to support Rao, also known as KCR, as he speaks good Urdu, but it is a ploy,’ Reddy said.According to Reddy, the four per cent reservation for minorities was introduced in undivided Andhra Pradesh by the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy-led Congress government under Sonia Gandhi's leadership.

He said the quota had helped several young people from minority communities become police officers, doctors and engineers, PTI reported. Referring to Shah as a ‘musafir’, or tourist, Reddy reiterated that he had challenged the BJP leader to try to remove the quota. ‘One musafir from Delhi had come to Telangana.

He went to Chevella and said they would form the government. They announced their decision to remove the four per cent reservation for minorities.

I told that musafir that such tourists from Delhi and elsewhere come to Telangana and leave. We never paid attention to such tourists.

There is no one who can remove the four per cent reservation. You try.

You are in power in India,’ he said.Reddy also questioned the reservation for minorities in Gujarat and said he had challenged Shah to remove the quota in the western state.Claiming that the Centre had stopped scholarships for minority students, Reddy asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why they had been discontinued. ‘Who is the god? Who told you to remove the scholarship for minority children?

Can anyone say that? But Modi and Amit bhai can do such a thing,’ he said.Reddy asserted that the Congress would fight for the rights of both minorities and the majority.

Without naming KCR, he said a leader had promised 12 per cent reservation for minorities but later ‘ran away’ from the commitment.The chief minister said his government had rewarded cricketer Mohammed Siraj and boxer Nikhat Zareen with senior-level government posts. Acknowledging the hurdles faced by young women from minority communities, he said Zareen had been appointed a deputy superintendent of police for making the country proud through her achievements.Reddy said the state government was extending the Hyderabad Metro Rail network to the Old City and ensuring that minorities were covered under schemes such as Indiramma housing.

He added that the government no longer had land to distribute among the poor but would ensure access to education.Reiterating the Congress's support for minority rights, Reddy highlighted the four per cent reservation, scholarships, government appointments, housing and access to education, while accusing the BJP and regional parties of failing minority communities.- Ends