Hyderabad: Congress demands 12% Muslim quota in jobs

Hyderabad: Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Friday demanded Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to implement 12 per cent reservation for both Muslims and Scheduled Tribes in the ongoing recruitment drive to fill nearly 80,039 vacancies. He said that the Chief Minister must implement the quota and fight a legal battle later if it gets stopped by the court of law.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, he said, "March 25 is an important date in the history and struggle for Muslim reservation. It was on this day in 2010 when the Supreme Court permitted the continuance of 4 per cent reservation in jobs and education for Muslims under the BC-E category which was struck down by the High Court. Originally, Congress president Sonia Gandhi promised 5 per cent Muslim reservation in the 2004 election manifesto. The promise was implemented in just 58 days after coming to power by the Congress government headed by Dr YS Rajashekhara Reddy. The quota was later reduced to 4 per cent on the orders of the High Court."

He further continued stating, "As the then Minister, I played my role in getting clearance from over 17 departments to implement a 5 per cent Muslim quota. We fought a long legal battle to protect the Muslim reservation. It was struck down by the Andhra Pradesh High Court twice on technical and other grounds", he said.