Muslim groups pitch for implementation of Rangnath report

A group of Muslim organisations from across the country today pitched for implementation of the Rangnath Mishra Commission report on reservation to the community and said they would seek support of all political parties to ensure the recommendations were executed.

The groups are seeking a 10% quota in jobs for the community as recommended by the Commission, which also suggested giving scheduled caste status to dalits in all religions.

"The consensus is that the Muslim community should be recognised as a backward class and a weaker section and should be entitled to a separate quota of 10 percent as recommended by Mishra Commission," chief organiser of the National Movement for Muslim Reservation (JCMOE), Abdul Waheed said.

The organisations include JIH, JUH, JAH, AIMC, AISC, Karnataka-based Popular Front of India, the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Khazagam, All India Federation of Muslim Backward Classes in Mumbai, the Muslim Reservation Movement in UP and the Milli Muttaheda Mahaz from Bihar.

After a conference in New Delhi today they jointly made the demand after building a consensus on the Mishra Commission report.

Denying there was any constitutional bar for giving reservation on the basis of religion, the JCMOE said Articles 15 (I), 15 (4), 16(4) and 46 permit reservation on the basis of religion as on the basis of caste if a group is found to be constituting a backward class under uniform parameters.

Secretary general, LJP, Abdul Khaliq said the conference has built a consensus on the recommendations as well as the
modalities to implement them (reservation) and the group will soon meet all political parties demanding their support for
the implementation of the Commission's report. "The objective of the meet is to build the up Muslim unity and coordination of all marginalised groups which would contribute towards crystallisation of political support for implementation of the Report," Waheed said.

The Commission placed its report before Parliament on December l8 last year.

JCMOE also demanded that the supreme court's ceiling of 50% must be revised upward and every state should have its own ceiling within the SC's guidelines and parameters for measurement of backwardness and fixation of quota and sub-quotas for a social group.

However, the groups were of the opinion that the demand for proportional political representation is a "legitimate demand". They agreed not to raise the demand at present for multiplicity of reasons in order to concentrate on socio-economic upliftment of the community and to maintain solidarity among all deprived groups, the JCMOE release said.

The groups also rejected the move to give a sub-quota of 4% to Muslims from among the 27% quota for OBCs.

The conference decided to project reservation as the only remedy against communal bias, religious discrimination and caste prejudice, saying they all violate human rights.

The Muslim groups urged the secular political parties at the Centre and in states to raise the question of implementation of the report on the floor of the house.