Maha: After beef ban, now Fadnavis govt scraps quota for Muslims

Mumbai, March 5: Muslims will not get the five percent reservations in Maharashtra government jobs as announced by the erstwhile Congress-NCP government just before Assembly polls last year, it was officially announced in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The State Government has not re-promulgated the lapsed ordinance providing for reservation for Muslims in government and aided educational institutions in the state, but also cancelled all government resolutions providing for such a quota.

"An ordinance to this effect (providing a five percent job quota) lapsed on December 23 last year," a Maharashtra government resolution said.

"Considering this fact, the concerned government resolution issued on 24 July last year is being scrapped," the government resolution said.

In June last year, Maharashtra's earlier Congress-NCP government had approved a 16 percent reservation for Marathas and a five percent for Muslims just ahead of the 15 October Assembly polls, after the Congress was routed in the general elections.

The quota was given through two separate categories, namely the Educationally and Socially Backward Category (ESBC) for Marathas as well as a Special Backward Class (Muslims) segment for the Muslims.

On 14 November, 2014, the Bombay High Court had stayed implementation of the decision of the erstwhile Congress-NCP government to provide 16 percent reservations for Marathas in jobs and education, which was announced just ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls.

The court had also stayed the Maharashtra state's decision to provide a five percent job reservation to Muslims in government service, but it allowed quotas for them in educational institutions.

The Maharashtra state government had challenged the Bombay High Court order in the Supreme Court, which refused to interfere with the interim decision of the High Court but asked the Maharashtra state government to go back to the Bombay High Court on the issue.

OneIndia News
(With agency inputs)