Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad criticises Maharashtra govt's decision to cancel Muslim quota

'Instead of strengthening the process, the government has cancelled earlier procedures citing interim stay orders of the High Court and lapse of the ordinance,' she said.

Mumbai: Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad on Wednesday said the BJP-led Maharashtra government's decision to cancel the five per cent reservation for the Muslims was "harmful to democracy" and would push the community away from the mainstream.

The Congress-NCP government in 2014 had announced a five per cent reservation in education and jobs for the Muslim community, but Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis failed to take positive steps in that direction, said the MP from Mumbai North-Central.

"Instead of strengthening the process, the government has cancelled earlier procedures citing interim stay orders of the High Court and lapse of the ordinance. On one hand, the BJP speaks of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (development for all), and on the other hand it blocks the path to securing necessary documents for reservation," she said.

The Bombay High Court had upheld the five per cent reservation in education for the Muslim community, but the state government did not implement it fully, Gaikwad said, and also sought to know the stands of ruling allies Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party.

The reservation for the Muslims was not religion-based but was for the benefit of socially and educationally backward sections, Gaikwad said, adding that the BJP's stand reflected an anti-reservation mindset.