Sub-quota for minorities

Sub-quota for minorities

Supporting the Andhra Pradesh high court's judgment on the Central government's order of a sub-quota of 4.5 per cent for minorities in the 27 per cent reservation provided for OBCs, Rashtriya Sahara, in its editorial on May 30, writes: "This reservation is certainly not on the basis of religion. Therefore, if in the list of traditional professions for reservation (as provided by the Mandal Commission), any biradari of Muslims is included, it would also be accorded reservation. The Central government glossed over this provision and created the impression that Muslims are being given this reservation on the basis of religion and the high court rightly rejected this provision. This is fraudulent... Reservation on the basis of religion negates the principle of secularism that is a fundamental principle of the Constitution... How can the Supreme Court uphold the government's order when the Constitution does not allow reservation on the basis of religion?"

The daily Siasat, published from Hyderabad and Bangalore, questions in its editorial: "When there is no provision for reservation on the basis of religion in the Constitution, why did the Central government not make legal preparations for such a measure?" It adds: "Muslims are not going to gain anything if the government's move remains caught up in legalese. The government had issued its order for 4.5 per cent sub-quota before the recent UP elections to garner Muslim votes."

The daily Inquilab, published from over a dozen centres including Delhi and Mumbai, sees a clever political game on the part of the government. It writes in a commentary on June 1: "It seems that the Central government feels that its order will also be rejected by the Supreme Court. That is why it is now being hinted that it would not back out even if the Constitution has to be amended to benefit minorities through this measure."

... contd.

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