Maha BJP MLA asks state govt to provide quota to Muslims

Disgruntled BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh has slammed the Maharashtra government for failing to provide reservation to the Muslim community.

Addressing a function recently at Katol, a taluka in Nagpur district, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator said that lack of reservations was depriving the community of good education.

"There is an urgent need for Muslim reservation. It will allow the community to progress if they get reservation in jobs and education," Deshmukh said.

The previous Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government in the state had issued an ordinance in October 2014 announcing 5 per cent quota in jobs and education for Muslims and 16 per cent for Marathas.

After the decision was challenged, the Bombay High Court scrapped the entire Maratha reservation along with 5 per cent Muslim reservation in jobs. However, it allowed the 5 per cent Muslim quota in education.

"But the Devendra Fadnavis government has not implemented 5 per cent reservations for Muslims in education," Deshmukh said, claiming that the community would not get quota till it showed its strength.

He said that intellectuals and prominent citizens from the community must come together to press for reservation, adding that the community's condition was worse than that of the Dalits.

The Katol MLA claimed that Sachar Committee and the Rangnath Commission had recommended quota for Muslims but political agendas had scuttled these recommendations.

"The Maharashtra government should immediately provide reservation to the Muslim community so that they can progress socially, economically, educationally, politically, and culturally," Deshmukh said.