SP demands Muslim reservation in Maharashtra

Mumbai: Referring to the Muslim reservation assurance given by the BJP’s key ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party has demanded that the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra should provide five percent reservation to the Muslim community in the state. In a letter written to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Dy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Samajwadi party MLA Rais Shaikh has demanded that five percent reservation must be given to Muslims at the earliest to eradicate their backwardness.

In his letter, Shaikh, an MLA from Bhiwandi (East), referred to a recent statement made by the TDP general secretary and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh saying that his party was committed to the five percent reservation for Muslims under the OBC category and the reservations provided to Muslims is not appeasement but for ‘social justice’ to bring them out of poverty.

“If a key BJP ally in NDA is committed to the Muslim reservation in Andhra Pradesh, the BJP in the state and its alliance partners such as Shiv Sena and NCP will not have any problem at all in giving reservation to Muslims in the state. I urge the state government to bring a law immediately to provide reservations to Muslims,” said Shaikh.



The SP MLA also accused the Mahayuti government of causing delay in carrying out the detailed survey on the socio-economic status of the Muslim community.

“The Dr Mehmoodur Rehman Committee has suggested a survey of the Muslim community in the state. Accordingly, the Mahayuti government appointed the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and sanctioned Rs 33 lakh for the survey. However, the work order has not been issued to TISS since a year and a half. Why is injustice being meted out to the Muslim community?” asked Shaikh. Shaikh also mentioned that the then 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.

Recently, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange also demanded that Muslims in Maharashtra should be given reservation in OBC. The population of the Muslim community in the state is 11.5 percent. During the Lok Sabha elections, TDP, who formed an alliance with the BJP, had promised reservation to the Muslim community in the state after his party came to power. Naidu had also assured that financial aid of Rs 1 lakh will be extended to Muslim pilgrims who visit Mecca.