Minority reservation was a poll-time promise made by the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. The government fulfilled its promise by providing for five per cent reservation for religious minorities (read Muslim) in government jobs and educational institutions.
The first order offering Muslims five per cent quota in Andhra Pradesh was issued by the state government on July 7, 2004. This was challenged in the high court, which struck it down as unconstitutional, in September 2004.
In a bid to create a sub-quota within the backward classes, the then YSR government ordered the AP Backward Classes Commission to conduct a fresh enquiry on the status of Muslims and, on presentation of its report, issued an ordinance in June 2005 earmarking five per cent quota for Muslims in education and state government jobs.
But the bill passed by the Assembly to replace the ordinance, was challenged in the Andhra Pradesh high court. In November 2005, AP High Court struck down the Act calling it unconstitutional and religion-specific.
Another ordinance
The exercise by the Rajasekhara Reddy government to revive Muslim sub-quota ended in another ordinance doling out five per cent quota for socially and educationally backward Muslims, which in August 2007 became an Act.
Prior to that, the government scaled down the sub-quota to 4 per cent despite opposition. The Act was challenged, and a seven-judge bench issued a majority verdict striking it down as unsustainable.
The AP government appealed to the Supreme Court against the high court order. A bench headed by former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan allowed the appeal, thereby allowing 4 per cent reservations for Muslims listed in the Schedule of the Act to continue.
The Act was still in force Andhra Pradesh as it was a separate quota for Muslims.
The Centre on December 22, 2011 issued an Office Memorandum carving out a sub-quota of 4.5 per cent for socially and educationally backward classes of citizens belonging to minority communities, out of the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in central educational institutions and jobs.
“The earlier quota was specific to Muslims and we were not opposed to it. But the OM issued by the union government slashed the quota of backward classes, which we will not allow,” said R Krishnaiah of Backward Classes Association, who challenged the OM in the AP HC.
The High Court, on May 28, quashed the 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities.
Divided they stand
Coming down heavily on backward class organizations for questioning the backwardness of minorities, Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has called upon the Muslims to question the backwardness of backward classes and challenge the reservation provided to them.
Describing the High Court judgment as erroneous, he said the court said there was no homogeneity between any two minority groups. "In that case, what homogeneity could one find between any two castes among the 93 castes included in the OBC list?" he asked.
Lashed out at the Congress for not being serious about reservation for minorities, he said the government sent the attorney-general to argue petty cases, but in this case only the assistant attorney-general represented.
He demanded that the Centre move the Supreme Court to stay the High Court order and save minority students shortlisted for admissions to IITs and other central institutions.
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