Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janta Party on Monday launched a protest against hike in Muslim quota. This comes a day after the Telangana legislature passed a bill increasing the quota for backward Muslims. BJP protested by laying siege to offices of district collectors across the state. 

Bharatiya Janta Party leaders and workers protested in all 31 districts and termed the "religion-based" reservation as "unconstitutional". The protesters sat in front of the office buildings and raised slogans. They were later arrested by the cops.

The protest at the office of Hyderabad District Collector led to a heated argument between the police officers and BJP leaders.

 Image courtesy:ANI

The protesting party leaders were bodily lifted by the police and thereafter detained. Those detained included BJP's national General Secretary P. Muralidhar Rao and member of Telangana legislative council Ramachandra Rao.

Muralidhar Rao slammed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government for taking unilateral action on increasing the reservation quota for Muslims from 4 to 12 percent.  He said the bill providing reservation for Muslims was twice struck down by the High Court in the past.

Assembly passes bill:

The state assembly and council on Sunday unanimously passed a bill for hiking quota for Muslims and Scheduled Tribes.

All five members of BJP were suspended from the assembly for stalling the proceedings during the debate on the bill. Its lone member in the council staged a walkout.

Meanwhile, BJP's Telangana unit President K. Laxman said the party would continue its protests.