Hyderabad: AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday assured a delegation of AP Congress leaders that the party was firmly behind the 4 per cent reservations provided to Muslims by the Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy government and will implead in a case to come up before a Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court on April 18.
Following Mr Gandhi instructions, former Union law minister Salman Khurshid, who has already been appearing on an implead petition filed by former minister Shabbir Ali, will also appear for a similar petition filed by APCC chief N. Raghuveera Reddy. On Thursday, Mr Gandhi met the AP Congress leaders in Delhi and after a lengthy discussion on the issue, agreed to extend the party’s support to the cause of providing reservations to Muslims.
Later, Mr Reddy told newsmen that on behalf of the Congress, he will implead in the case as it will be a historic case. In 2004, the then government had given five per cent reservations to Muslims through an executive order that was struck down by the AP High Court. Subsequently, the AP Assembly passed an Act providing reservations which too was struck down by the High Court. The government then went for an appeal before the Supreme Court which was allowed.
The SC stayed the High Court judgement and permitted government to continue implementation of reservations, subject to its final verdict. Later a Constitutional Bench was constituted on the appeal and it is coming for hearing on April 18. Mr Reddy said that the High Court struck down the five per cent reservations since it crossed the threshold of 50 per cent fixed by the Apex Court in 1992. Taking the 50 per cent cap into account, the then government reduced the quota to 4 per cent.
Responding to the HC’s contention that any reservation based on religion couldn’t be entertained, the then government contended that of the 30 sub-sets in Muslim community, only 14 sub-sets were provided reservations based on their social and economic backwardness and not on their religion. The HC also was against providing reservations without any relevant commission study, to which the government said it was done based on a study taken up the Backward Classes Commission. Now, According to Mr Raghuveera Reddy, more than 10,000 doctors, one lakh engineering graduates have benefitted due to the reservations apart from thousands of employees recruited in various government departments.
