Soon, Maharashtra to bring in law that will provide 5% quota for Muslims in education

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra plans to bring in a law to provide five per cent reservations to Muslims in government education institutions soon, Minister for Minority Affairs Nawab Malik said on Friday. "The Bombay High Court has upheld the five per cent reservation in educational institutes given to Muslims in 2014. The government will soon bring a law to provide that benefit," Malik said.

He informed the Maharashtra legislative council that the state government will introduce legislation to the effect soon in the matter which has been pending since long. He also said that the government will bring the law as per the Constitution, and it will stand in court. "The government will take appropriate decision on bringing in the law before school admissions start in June," he said, according to the Indian Express.

Responding to query by Congress MLC Sharad Ranpise, Malik said that suitable action will be taken in this regard before the start of the admissions for the next academic year. The decision is in tune with the common minimum programme of the ruling Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress government and will be implemented after taking legal opinion in the matter.

Malik from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - one of the three alliance members of the MVA - also added that they are also planning to make room for reservation in jobs and the government is seeking legal advice for it. The previous government, which was a coalition between Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and the BJP, didn't give reservation for Muslims despite a court order.

"We will try to give reservation to Muslims in education by the end of this (assembly) session. We will try to give 5 per cent reservation," said the minister from Sharad Pawar's NCP that along with the Congress and the Shiv Sena formed government last November after the Sena quit the alliance with BJP over power-sharing, according to a NDTV report.