MIM, Congress seek more Muslims in Backward Classes list

Hyderabad: The MIM and the Congress have urged the National Commission for Backward Classes to include 14 castes and sub-castes of socially and educationally backward classes of Muslims in the Central list of OBCs for Telangana and AP.

An MIM delegation comprising Syed Altaf Hyder Razivi and Syed Amin Jafri submitted a memorandum to the commission on behalf of party president Asaduddin Owaisi.

Legislative Council Leader of Opposition Mohammed Ali Shabbir also submitted a separate memorandum on the issue.

At present, three sub-castes of Muslims (Dudekula/Laddaf, Pinjari/Noorbash, Mehtars and Quresh/Muslim butchers) are included in the Central list of OBCs for AP.

The delegation told the commission that the Reservation in Favour of Socially and Educationally Backward Muslims Act 2007, was enacted in the undivided AP Assembly for the inclusion of 14 castes/classes of Muslims as socially and educationally backward under separate groups with four per cent reservations.

The TS government included these 14 SEBC castes among the Muslim population in the state BC list. The BC list in residuary AP now consists of 139 castes/sub-castes/communities with 29 per cent reservations. This includes four per cent reservations for 14 Muslim classes.

The Centre retained the list of 111 castes/sub-castes as in February 2014 for the Central list of OBCs in respect of residuary AP. This OBC Central List for AP does not include the 14 SEBC communities among the Muslim population, they pointed out.

After the creation of Telangana State on June 2, the Telangana government issued GO Ms No. 3 on August 14, 2014, for the adaptation of 112 backward classes/castes/communities specifying the percentage of reservation for the state BC list.

Though there were 138 castes/sub-castes in the BC list approved by the erstwhile government in undivided AP as on June 1, 2014, the Telangana government found on verification that only 112 castes/sub-castes pertain to Telangana. The left-over castes are specific to areas now forming part of residuary AP.