Senior Congress politician and Opposition Leader of Telangana Legislative Council, Mohammed Ali Shabbir has said that the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments must take immediate legal measures to protect the 4 per cent Muslim quota in jobs and education sector, warning of a threat to the continuance of the quota in the wake of the recent Supreme Court verdict.
On Wednesday, the apex court, while quashing the Maharashtra law to provide reservation for Marathas, held that there shall be a cap of 50% on reservation as laid down in the 1992 Indra Sawhney case.
Addressing a press conference through Facebook on Friday, Shabbir Ali said that the top court’s judgment of scrapping the Maratha reservation came as a big shock for many.
“This judgment clearly means that Telangana could not enhance the quota of Muslims and STs to 12 per cent as it violates the 50 per cent ceiling. Therefore, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao must stop fooling Muslims and STs on the promise of 12 per cent quota as it is practically and legally impossible,” Congress leader said.
While expressing concern over the Supreme Court’s reported remarks that States could not decide the BCs list, the Congress leader said this was an issue of serious concern as it might affect the 4 per cent Muslim quota, which is being implemented through the BC-E list.
The first Minister of Minority Welfare in the state, Shabbir Ali served as a Cabinet minister under the Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy government, during which time he extended 4% Reservations for minority students in the state.
This story first appeared on maktoobmedia.com