• Source:JND
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Muslim Quota Row:  The issue of reservation based on religion again flared on Tuesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Congress tried to extend it to Muslims. The PM cited the attempts by the Congress government in 2004 to include the Muslims under the fold of reservation in Andhra Pradesh. He alleged that the UPA government tried to reduce the SC/ST reservation in the state and give it to the Muslims.

PM further attacked the principal opposition party saying that it tried to extend the Muslim reservation throughout the country in 2011.

“This was a pilot project which the Congress wanted to try in the entire country. Between 2004 and 2010, Congress tried to implement Muslim reservation in Andhra Pradesh four times but due to legal hurdles and the awareness of the Supreme Court, it could not fulfil its intention… In 2011, the Congress tried to implement it throughout the country,” he said as quoted by the Indian Express.

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“I want to ask the Congress if will it divide the reservation for Dalits and backward tribals and give it to Muslims,” he said while adding that these steps by Congress showed that it does not care about the Constitution and Baba Saheb's ideals.

Had Congress tried to extend reservation to Muslims?

The idea of providing reservation to Muslims in undivided Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana) was initially raised during 1993-1994 under the leadership of the Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy-led Congress government, which established a Minorities Welfare Ministry. In August 1994, a government order was issued to allocate a 5% quota to Muslims and 14 other castes in educational institutions and government jobs. However, this initiative could not be put into action as Congress lost power in both 1994 and 1999.

In 2004, Congress promised 5% reservation for Muslims, backed by YSR's government and the UPA. However, legal challenges ensued, resulting in the High Court mandating a reduction to 4% to comply with the 50% cap.

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“The 4% quota was not given based on religion but on backwardness, and only 14 groups identified by the Backward Class Commission and not the entire community got the benefit… Most importantly, the Muslim quota was given separately without reducing the reservation percentage of other communities,’’ Mohd Ali Shabir, a minister in the erstwhile YSR government said.

In centre

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election manifesto, Congress promised to introduce a nationwide reservation for Muslims in jobs and education, aiming to establish a Muslim sub-quota within the existing 27 per cent OBC quota.

In October 2004, the UPA government established the Ranganath Misra panel to advise on SEBC identification among religious and linguistic minorities. The panel suggested a 10% quota for Muslims and 5% for other minorities in government jobs and education, or a sub-quota within the OBC reservation. In 2011, the Minority Affairs Ministry proposed an 8.4% sub-quota, later reduced to 4.5%. However, the Andhra Pradesh High Court annulled the move in May 2012.