MUMBAI: In a move which could cause discord within the Mahayuti government, deputy CM Ajit Pawar has said that he will talk to CM Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis about the proposal for 5% reservation for Muslims in educational institutions.
Fadnavis has been vocal about his party BJP’s opposition to religion-based reservations and has said in the past that the Muslim quota would affect OBC and Maratha reservations. With Lok Sabha polls due next year, the Eknath Shinde government will now have to clarify its stand on the issue.
Ajit Pawar made the statement regarding the Muslim quota in a meeting called by him on Thursay to discuss issues relating to the minority community. “The decision on the implementation of the 5% Muslim quota in educational institutions as per the court ruling will be taken after talking to the chief minister and deputy chief minister,” he told the gathering. He also said that a special package will be considered for backward members of the Muslim community.
The quota in education was promised by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in 2020.
In 2014, the then Congress-NCP government had passed an ordinance allowing for a 5% quota for Muslims in government jobs and educational institutions. The Bombay high court, where the decision was challenged, allowed for the quota in the government’s educational institutions but not in jobs. Subsequently, when the BJP-led government was formed in Maharashtra later the same year, it allowed the ordinance to lapse. The MVA in 2020 said it would bring in the quota in education.
In the meeting, Ajit Pawar also said government would increase share capital of Maulana Azad Minorities Finance Development Corporation in stages from Rs 700 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. Also, the government guarantee would be increased from Rs 30 crore to Rs 500 crore. The corporation is aimed at uplift of economically backward sections of the minority community. – TNN
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