Maharashtra: Congress demands five per cent reservation for backward Muslims

Maharashtra Congress working president Naseem Khan met CM Eknath Shinde to demand five per cent reservation to the Muslim community in educational institutions and government jobs based on their backwardness

New Delhi: Maharashtra Congress working president Naseem Khan met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to demand five per cent reservation to the Muslim community in educational institutions and government jobs based on their backwardness.

In 2014, the then Congress-NCP regime had granted the 5 per cent reservations to Muslims based on their backwardness. But later governments did not maintain this reservation. It is not based on religion but only for academics and government jobs, said Naseem Khan.

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Notably, in 2014, the Congress-NCP alliance government awarded five per cent reservation to the Muslim community for educational institutions and government jobs on the basis of their backwardness. However, this reservation was not executed by the subsequent governments.

Maharashtra is presently ruled by the BJP in partnership with the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena as well as the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP. Earlier on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the BJP is of the belief that the Constitution does not provide for reservation on the grounds of religion.

Addressing a public meeting organised in Nanded, Maharashtra, to mark the completion of nine years of the BJP-led government at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Home Minister said, “The BJP believes that there should be no reservation on the grounds of religion as it is unconstitutional. (Former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena UBT chief) Uddhav Thackeray should make his stand clear on this.” Earlier, while campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections, Shah lashed out at the Congress while defending the move of the then BJP government to roll back the four per cent reservation for the Muslims, saying that his party only rectified the wrong done by the grand old party by doing away with reservation for the Muslims in the state.

Addressing a meeting in Byndoor on April 29, said, “The BJP has rectified the wrong of the Congress by doing away with Muslim reservation in Karnataka. The Congress wants to restore it. We will ensure that they are not able to do so as it is unconstitutional and also compromises with the rights of the Vokkaligas, Lingayats, SCs, STs and Dalits in the state.” “BJP scrapped the four per cent Muslim reservation as the Constitution does not guarantee reservation on grounds of religion. The Congress has said once their reverse-gear government comes, they will restore the Muslim reservation. Do you want that?” Shah said at the rally.