Muslim leaders ramp up efforts to seek reservation

MUMBAI: Even as the state government fumbles with the agitation for Maratha reservation, Muslim leaders have stepped up the demand for quota in jobs and education for their community. They said that the government should give at least the 5% reservation in education which even the Bombay high court had allowed.


“We are not against Maratha reservation but reiterate our demand that reservation to Muslims should also be given,” said former minister and Congress MLA Arif Naseem Khan. “I raised this issue in the last monsoon session of the assembly at Nagpur, where I said that the CM misled the masses when he said that our demand would not be met as no reservation would be given on the basis of religion. We never demanded reservation on the religious ground.”

Khan said the previous Congress-NCP government in the state had identified 50 economically backward classes among Muslims and in October 2014 announced 5% quota in jobs and education. When it was challenged in

the Bombay high court, the court scrapped the entire 16% Maratha reservation and 5% Muslim reservation in jobs but allowed the 5% Muslim quota in education.

Then the government changed. “BJP government allowed the ordinance for Muslim reservation to lapse and never brought in a bill as it doesn’t want to give reservation to even the economically backward Muslims,” said Khan.

He raised the issue again at the Congress legislators’ meet on Monday and later as part of a party delegation to the governor, handing over a memorandum for Maratha and Muslim reservation.

MIM legislator Waris Pathan, who has been stridently demanding a Muslim quota, said several committees like those headed by Rajinder Sachar, Rangnath Mishra and Mahmoodur Rahman had recommended it after studying the community’s economic and social backwardness.

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“The BJP government is not serious about giving reservations to the economically backward Muslims,’ said Pathan. “We have repeatedly demanded the 5% Muslim quota in Maharashtra but the government has turned a deaf ear.”