The Maharashtra government has withdrawn the five percent reservation for Muslims in jobs and education, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition, which has accused the BJP-led Mahayuti administration of being "anti-minority."
A Government Resolution (GR) was issued to this effect on Tuesday, as the previous ordinance about the five percent reservation has lapsed and there is an interim court stay on that decision.
Notably, the previous Congress-NCP government had issued an ordinance to grant a 16 percent quota to Marathas and five percent to Muslims.
As per the new GR, all previous decisions and the ordinance related to the five per cent reservation in government, semi-government jobs and educational institutions for the socially and educationally backward Muslim group included under the Special Backward Category (A) have been cancelled. The government has cancelled the earlier decisions and circulars from 2014 and stopped issuing caste and non-creamy layer certificates to Muslims in the Special Backward Category, the new order said.
Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad on Wednesday termed the government's decision as "harmful to democracy" and said that it would push the Muslim community away from the mainstream.
"Instead of strengthening the process, the government has cancelled earlier procedures citing interim stay orders of the High Court and lapse of the ordinance. On one hand, the BJP speaks of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (development for all), and on the other hand it blocks the path to securing necessary documents for reservation," she said.
The Bombay High Court had upheld the five per cent reservation in education for the Muslim community, but the state government did not implement it fully, Gaikwad said, and also sought to know the stands of ruling allies Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party.
The reservation for the Muslims was not religion-based but was for the benefit of socially and educationally backward sections, Gaikwad said, adding that the BJP's stand reflected an anti-reservation mindset.
Former state Congress working committee member Naseem Khan alleged that the ruling Mahayuti coalition had committed an injustice by taking such a step, while NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said the BJP doesn't value Muslim leaders of the party and its allies.
Speaking to reporters, Khan said the decision to scrap the quota for socially and educationally backward sections within the Muslim community was "extremely wrong" and would deprive minorities of opportunities to join the mainstream of development.
He said the previous Congress-NCP government in 2014 had issued an ordinance granting the Muslim quota. "The subsequent Devendra Fadnavis government did not take the process forward, and even after the Bombay High Court granted interim relief for 5 per cent educational reservation, its implementation was not ensured," Khan alleged.
He added that the quota was implemented for the 2014-15 academic year, but was not continued later despite repeated assurances by the BJP government.
Khan further alleged that several welfare schemes for minorities launched by the earlier Congress-led government had been discontinued. He called the government "anti-minority."
Minorities include not only Muslims but also Jains, Sikhs and Parsis, he said, adding that the government should ensure equal development opportunities for all such communities.
NCP (SP) spokesperson Crasto said the decision proves that the BJP doesn't value Muslim leaders of the party and its allies. "It also shows that these Muslim leaders won't get justice from the BJP," he claimed.
(With inputs from PTI)