Across party lines,disquiet among Muslim MPs

On a day the Womens Reservation Bill cleared the first hurdle,Muslim Lok Sabha MPs cutting across party lines demanded a sub-quota for the already under-represented community....

On a day the Womens Reservation Bill cleared the first hurdle,Muslim Lok Sabha MPs cutting across party lines demanded a sub-quota for the already under-represented community,a demand that could well turn out to be an irritant for the Congress as it takes the legislation to the Lower House.

Significantly,the demands came from within the Congress and allies like the National Conference and Muslim League as well. The Trinamool Congress has already struck a note of dissent,with its MPs staying away from voting on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Maulana Mohammad Asrarul Haque,who represents Kishanganj in Bihar,became the first Congress MP to say that the views regarding sub-quota for Muslims,backward classes and Dalits needed to be looked into. The opponents of the Bill the RJD,JD(U) and Samajwadi Party have been consistently making this demand.

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I am not against reservation for women,but at the same time I would urge that the fears or opinions regarding Dalits,minorities and OBCs being left out should be addressed. Reservation should be such that women from all sections and communities get adequate representation, he told The Indian Express.

Haques sentiments are shared by other Muslim MPs of the Congress,though many did not admit to it openly. We will have to abide by whatever the high command says. We will talk in the party forum, said Ismail Hussain,a Congress MP from Assam.

MPs belonging to allies National Conference (NC) and the Muslim League have also joined their counterparts from the BSP,JD(U) and Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeens Asaduddin Owaisi in raising similar demands.

The question of neglect of the Muslim community is very much there… It is true that my party supports the UPA,but I have no answer if somebody asks me what was the haste in passing the womens Bill when the recommendations of the Sachar committee are not being implemented fully,while there is no action on the Ranganath Misra commission report, NC MP Sharifuddin Shariq said.

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However,indicating that the NC would not vote against the Bill in the Lok Sabha,Shariq added: At the same time,the Bill will give benefit to women. For one purpose,we cannot stop the other purpose.

The Muslim Leagues E T Mohammed Basheer said that given the low literacy rate among Muslim women,we feel many Muslim women will not come forward,and hence would not get a chance to become MPs.

The MIMs Owaisi made it clear that they would oppose the legislation,saying: While 7,906 candidates got elected in the 15 Lok Sabha elections from 1956 to 2009,only 14 Muslim women could manage to win… If the Bill is an affirmative action for the under-represented class,I feel the first right should go to Muslim women.

BJPs lone Muslim MP Shahnawaz Hussain,however,said he didnt view womens reservation through the prism of caste or community.