NCP seeks 15% reservation for minorities

The Nationalist Congress Party wants 15 per cent reservation for minorities in the country. Of this, 10 per cent must go to Muslims, as recommended by the Ranganath Mishra Committee and Rajinder Sachar Committee, party president and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said on Sunday.

To further this, the Maharasthra party, a crucial ally in the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, will extend support to a pertinent constitutional amendment. The basic motive, political observers note, is clear: To spread its base across the country.

Pawar’s demand comes close on the heels of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s announcement of bringing a resolution in her state’s Assembly for reservation of Muslims in educational institutions and government services.

The adjusted 2001 census figures show Muslims form the country’s largest minority, with 12.4 per cent population, followed by Christians and Sikh (2.3 per cent each).

Pawar’s timing is crucial. For, the Congress party is in a disarray and has been under attack from the minorities, especially Muslims, for lack of effective implementation of these reports despite repeated promises. Further, the NCP has, for a while now, been wanting to shed its image of being a Maratha-centric party -- ahead of the civic body elections starting next month. Also, on recently have nine accused in the Malegaon blast been granted bail.

Moreover, Pawar, 70, chose to demand reservation for minorities at his party’s convention in Delhi. The NCP boss, who enjoys good rapport with minorities, said they need to be brought into the mainstream. His party, Pawar declared, would take to the streets -- and take up in Parliament the issue of implementation of the Mishra and Sachhar panels’ recommendation, especially with regard to providing reservations for minorities.

As a beginning, Pawar said, the NCP would on its own start Urdu education institutes in Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh especially to promote education in the Muslim community. “This will help open up more and more avenues of development for the community,” he added.

His party feels that Pawar is vocal about stepping up efforts for welfare of minorities. “The minorities are not happy over the lack of implementation of recommendations of the Mishra and Sachhar committees,” an NCP minister told Business Standard. “It is high time the government implemented them and gave 15 per cent reservation to minorities.”

He said the Muslims, in particular, have shown in Gujarat that they favour development — and, therefore, sided with that state’s chief minister Narendra Modi. “This is ideal time to bring minorities into the main stream.”

On its part, the NCP also demanded handing over to the “real claimants” the Waqf Board-owned lands that are currently under illegal possession across the country. The party also called upon the Centre to establish a central commission for minorities for providing them equal rights.

Earlier in the day, the NCP held a well-attended rally to formally establish the party’s labour wing: National Front of Indian Trade Union.

Pawar said the Front would work across the country for the welfare of unorganised labourers in an era of liberalisation. The NCP’s move is to take on the Congress-promoted INTUC.