Embattled Congress, already facing scrutiny for 'dividing resources,' is now further entwined in the contentious 'Muslim reservation' issue, making it a hot topic for the Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused Congress of curtailing reservations for the community by including all Muslims in the OBC quota.
At an election rally in Chhattisgarh, PM Modi claimed, 'The Congress government in Karnataka has committed yet another sin. They've lumped all Muslim communities into the OBC category, effectively reducing the benefits previously afforded to the OBC community.
This issue of Muslim reservation is quickly escalating. But did this actually happen? The National Commission for Backward Classes chairman and BJP MP Hansraj Ahir reports that in Karnataka OBCs are afforded a 32% reservation. All Muslim castes have been included in one of the categories, thereby granting a 4% reservation to all Muslims within the state.
The Case Unraveled
- Karnataka has a 32 percent reservation for OBCs, divided into five categories - 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B. Category 1 includes 391 castes and sub-castes, of which 17 are Muslim. This category offers a 4% reservation.
- Category 2A comprises 393 castes and sub-castes, including 19 Muslim castes, granting them a 15% reservation.
- A third category, 2B, has been created and accommodates all Muslim castes, thereby ensuring a 4% reservation for all Muslims in the state.
- The remaining categories, 3A and 3B, offer 4% and 5% reservations respectively. Thus, a total of 883 castes and subcastes in Karnataka are entitled to OBC reservation. They benefit from this quota in government jobs and educational institutions.
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The Impact
- According to the National Commission for Backward Classes, Muslims make up 12.92 percent of the population in Karnataka. On March 30, 2002, the then Congress government issued a directive including Muslims in the OBC quota for reservations.
- The Karnataka government recognized 17 Muslim castes under Category 1 and 19 under Category 2A, considering them as OBC. They have now included the remaining Muslim castes into a new Category 2B. All Muslims are being granted reservations from the dedicated 32% quota for OBCs.
- Moreover, the Commission claims that the category distribution is not applied in local body elections, allowing Muslims to freely contest on all seats reserved for OBCs constituting 32%.
- Additionally, the reservation system applies to government jobs and educational institutions. Hansraj Ahir revealed that out of 930 total PG seats in government colleges, 150 were allocated to Muslims from the OBC quota. Ideally, only 4% of seats should have been reserved for Muslims, which are noticeably over 16%.
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Karnataka Government's Stand
- Hansraj Ahir, the chairman of the OBC Commission, informed news agencies that numerous attempts were made to get clarification from the Karnataka government, but no substantive response was received.
- He conveyed that in a reply dated April 23, the Karnataka Government stated that 'communities like Muslims and Christians neither fall under a caste nor a religion.'
- Ahir mentioned that when questioned about the basis for granting reservations to Muslims, the government failed to provide a satisfactory answer.
