SP MLA Demands 5% Muslim Quota

Mumbai: Amidst the clamour for the Maratha reservation, Muslims in Maharashtra have also started pressing for quota benefits. A day before the special one-day session of the Maharashtra legislature convened to discuss the demands of the Maratha reservation, Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Rais Shaikh on Monday demanded that five per cent reservation must be given to Muslims to eradicate the backwardness of the community and to bring them into the path of mainstream development.

In a letter written to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Bhiwandi East MLA has said that the Maharashtra government should enact in a law immediately to provide reservations to Muslims.

Shaikh said that the demand for Muslim reservations is on the basis of the economic and social backwardness of the community. “Around 50 sub-castes in the community will benefit from the reservation. The demand for reservation is based on the economic and social backwardness of the community. We hope that the government will give the rightful reservation to us,” he said.

The SP legislator, in his letter, highlighted that the previous Congress-NCP government had given reservation to Muslims through an ordinance and the Bombay High Court had also upheld the five per cent reservation in education for Muslims.

“However, the state government hasn’t brought in a law to ensure the implementation of the reservation. It is a gross injustice to the Muslim community, which has been fighting for their rightful reservation for decades. There is a lot of resentment among the community for not getting our due. It is high time that the government must provide reservation to the community,” said Shaikh.

According to him, the population of the Muslim community in the state is 11.5 per cent. The Justice Rajinder Sachar Commission (2006) and Justice Ranganath Mishra Committee (2004) proved the economic and educational backwardness of the Muslim community with statistics. In 2009, the Congress-led government formed the Dr Mehmoodur Rehman Committee, which recommended eight per cent reservation for the Muslim community in education and jobs.

The Maharashtra government will hold a special legislature session on Tuesday (February 20) to discuss the Maratha reservation issue. During the session, the recommendations and suggestions proposed by the State Commission of Maharashtra for Backward Class (SCMBC) will be discussed. Based on the commission’s report, the government is likely to enact a law for the Maratha reservation.