Yesterday, it was Minority Affairs Minister A R Antulay who said Dalit Muslims should be included in the SC/ST category. Now his colleague in the Cabinet Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz has joined the debate arguing for Muslim reservation with the rider that it should be for those “minus the creamy layer in the community.”

These views assume significance given that the Justice Rajinder Sachar committee is expected to submit its report to the Prime Minister on Friday. Its key findings, first reported in The Indian Express, paint a picture of under-representation of Muslims in virtually all sectors, including education and employment.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Soz said: “We have to wait till the Sachar Committee submits its findings to the government and makes its recommendations formally. But as far as I am concerned, I believe the way ahead is affirmative action for Muslims in such a manner that it ensures upliftment of sections that live in abysmal poverty and are simultaneously the most backward, educationally and socially. That means the creamy layer amongst Muslims will remain outside the pale of the dispensation.”

Soz said this was his “personal opinion” and he was yet to check if his party (Congress) was with him on this.

When asked if increasing the number of Muslim communities in the list of OBCs was an option — several Muslim communities are already a part of the list of OBCs eligible for reservation — Soz said he felt that more than just Muslim OBCs needed reservations. “The vast numbers of poor and backward Muslims who were not OBCs need to be brought into the ambit of reservations,” he said.

... contd.