Withdraw quota for Muslims: BJP

HYDERABAD: The state unit of the BJP on Tuesday demanded the state government to withdraw the earlier notifications providing reservation to Muslims in educational institutions and government jobs in the state and issue fresh notification regarding admissions to OBCs in the wake of High Court orders that reservations cannot be provided on the basis of one’s religion.Speaking to newsmen at the Secretariat after submitting a memorandum to chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, state BJP president G Kishan Reddy hailed the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order setting aside four percent sub-quota for religious minorities from the 27 percent OBC quota in education and jobs.Asking to withdraw all notifications issued providing reservations to Muslims, the BJP demanded fresh enumeration of OBCs and other castes and religions, before the reservation of the wards and villages were decided.Kishan Reddy appealed to the Union government to constitute Economically Backward Commission and provide reservation to other communities including religious minorities on the basis of economic backwardness.In fact the NDA government also constituted economic backward class commission but unfortunately the same was not continued by the subsequent governments, he said.Holding that the Centre acted in a ‘casual manner’, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday quashed the 4.5 per cent sub-quota to minorities carved out of 27 per cent OBC reservation.