'Competitive appeasement by NCP & Congress': BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Muslim quota

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Friday took a jibe at the Maha Vikas Aghadi government over the announcement of 5% reservations for Muslims in school and colleges in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. Somaiya said that in order to please the Congress and NCP, Shiv Sena has surrendered to the Muslim quota.

In a first response, Somaiya said, "Competitive appeasement by NCP and Congress as Sena surrenders to Muslim quota."

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Muslim reservation in Maharashtra

On Friday, in a massive development, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has announced in Maharashtra Legislative Council a 5% reservations for Muslims in school and colleges. State minister for minority affairs, Nawab Malik in response to Congress legislator Sharad Ranpise said in the Council that a bill will be introduced and the government will ensure its smooth passage. Malik added that action will be taken to ensure the passage before the beginning of the admissions for the academic year.

Earlier in January, Malik had confirmed that the move was in talks since the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) but had not been finalised yet. In spite of reservation in Maharashtra breaching 70%, sources on January 31, reported that the Thackeray-led Aghadi government is preparing to introduce a Muslim-based reservation in the state. Incidentally, a Muslim reservation was mentioned in Congress and NCP's manifesto.

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Congress-NCP govt's ordinance

The previous Congress-NCP government had passed an ordinance granting a 5% quota to Muslims in 2014, as per reports. But in 2018, the BJP-Shiv Sena government ruled out reservations for Muslims on religious grounds citing various Supreme Court and high court rulings. Then CM Fadnavis had reportedly said that the Bombay high court had upheld reservation in educational institutions for Muslims but rejected quota in jobs in 2014 when it struck down the Congress-NCP's ordinance.

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