Congress Leader Criticizes BJP Government for Scrapping 5% Reservation for Muslims

Mumbai: Former minister and Congress Working Committee member Naseem Khan has expressed strong opposition to the Maharashtra BJP-led government’s decision to revoke the 5% educational and job reservation granted to the Muslim community.

Speaking at Tilak Bhavan, Khan described the move as “deeply unjust” and accused the BJP of marginalizing minority communities by keeping them away from the mainstream of development. He emphasized that this decision undermines the efforts made by the Congress-led coalition government in 2014, which had issued an ordinance granting 5% reservation to socially and educationally backward sections within the Muslim community.

Historical Context

The 2014 ordinance had provided 5% reservation in education and government employment. Although the then Devendra Fadnavis government did not act on the ordinance, the Mumbai High Court had later issued an interim order applying the reservation for the 2014–15 academic year. However, the BJP government did not implement the court’s directive, prompting repeated objections from Congress leaders.

Allegations of Corruption

Naseem Khan also condemned the alleged corruption in issuing minority certificates. He claimed that on the day of Ajit Pawar’s demise, some schools were granted minority status certificates under questionable circumstances. Khan alleged that certificates were being sold for ₹5–10 lakh each, benefiting 70–75 schools and several major educational institutions. He urged the government to revoke these certificates and called for a CID or SIT investigation to suspend officials involved in the malpractice.

Khan further highlighted that these certificates were being used to circumvent the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which guarantees free education for economically weaker sections, thereby depriving poor students of their legal rights.