Maharashtra seeks legal advice on Muslim quota

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that his government is seeking legal consultation for an ordinance on reservations to Muslims in education and jobs.

His statement in the Assembly came in the wake of an intense attack from the opposition Congress and NCP for scrapping reservation for Muslims. The Chief Minister pointed out that the previous Democratic Alliance government also brought an ordinance which lapsed.

“The issue of reservation is still in courts and only an interim order has been given.  There is no verdict yet in the case. We will go by the constitutional framework,” he said, accusing the Congress and NCP of vote bank politics. Senior Congress leader Naseem Khan, the minority affairs minister in the previous government, said only the actual ordinance, and not mere statement, will help.

“We have burnt copies of the GR that scrapped the reservation,” he said, adding that the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court had maintained the 5 per cent reservation in educational institutions.