No, BJP leader didn't say party will end Muslim reservations in Andhra Pradesh

By: Rohith Gutta
April 12 2024

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Screenshot of a social media post claiming that the Andhra Pradesh BJP chief promised to end Muslim reservations once elected to power. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim? 

Several social media users have shared purported clips of news segments and news articles to claim that the chief of the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) proclaimed that once in power, her party and its allies will not let four percent of seats in the education and public employment sector be reserved for Muslims. 

The viral purported clip, which shows a video report by ABN Andhrajyothy and articles from newspapers like Disha and news apps such as Way2News, claim that Daggubati Purandeswari, BJP Andhra Pradesh chief, made the statement. She purportedly said this will also be a part of their manifesto. Archived versions of these posts can be seen here, here, and here.

The state of Andhra Pradesh currently provides four percent reservation in educational institutions and jobs to 15  socially and economically backward groups belonging to the Muslim community. The constitutional validity of the provision, which was first struck down by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, is currently under review in the Supreme Court.

Screenshots of the viral social media posts sharing purported news stories about the BJP leader's alleged announcement. 
(Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, fabricated news clips and reports have been shared to make a false claim about the Opposition alliance planning to end reservations for Muslims. Purandeswari made no such statement. 

What did we find?

We looked for news stories around the said statement but did not find any. 

We then looked at the purported viral report by Disha newspaper on the alleged statement. The date on the news clip mentioned is April 9, 2024, but when we reviewed that particular day's edition, we could not find any such report.

We also checked the hyperlink mentioned at the bottom of the viral newspaper page, allegedly published by Disha, which led us to a story about the dissension in the Kurnool district TDP committee. This story was published on a page of the Disha 'Dynamic' edition. 

The Disha' Dyanmic' edition did not carry any story mentioning the viral claim. The font of the viral article also differs from the font used by the newspaper. 

Comparison between the viral image and the original page published by Disha newspaper. (Source: Facebook/Disha e-paper/Screenshots)

Similarly, the Way2news article, too, is fabricated. Articles of Way2news, a Telugu news aggregator, have a link at the top right leading to a longer article. In this case, the link took us to an article on TDP and YSRCP contestants from the Tuni constituency. It is to be noted that screenshots of Way2news are often shared with misleading or false claims.

Logically Facts has previously debunked several such claims shared in the Way2news template, which can be read here and here. In fact, after their template was repeatedly misused, the news outlet has now started a webpage to confirm authentic articles and links.

Comparison between the viral story and the original article shared by Way2News. (Source: Facebook/Way2News/Screenshots)

ABN Andhrajyothy also clarified on X that the outlet never aired any news about Purandeswari, promising that her party and allies will end reservations, for Muslims if they come to power in the upcoming polls. The outlet said the viral video report was fake.

Purandeswari and BJP Andhra Pradesh, too, clarified the same on X with the caption, "Owing to the fear of defeat, and under the intoxication of adulterated liquor they are supplying, the blue party (referring to the color of the ruling YSR Congress Party) is resorting to such fake propaganda and letters." 

Logically Facts has previously debunked many claims that relied on fabricated news articles and clips. Some of them can be read here, here, and here. 

It is to be noted that in 2023, in the run-up to the Assembly elections in neighboring Telangana, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the BJP will strike down the four percent reservation granted to Muslims and redistribute it among the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC), if the party comes to power in Telangana. Shah made the statement while addressing a rally in Telangana's Koratla on November 20, 2023, a livestream of which was shared on his official YouTube channel. His statement can be viewed from 9.12 timecode.

The verdict

Fabricated clips and reports from various news outlets have been shared to falsely claim that Andhra Pradesh BJP chief D Purandeswari stated that once elected to power, the BJP-JSP-TDP alliance will end Muslim reservations in the state. Therefore, we have marked this claim as fake.  

(Update note: The story has been updated to add that Home Minister Amit Shah has made a statement in favour of ending four percent reservation for Muslims in the past.)