Prithviraj Chavan cabinet approves 5% reservation for Muslims in government, jobs, education

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has given his nod to 4.5% reservation for Muslims in the education sector and government jobs.

The Congress Party and Muslim parties hailed the decision while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders called it 'unconstitutional'.

Congress leader Manish Tewari said that his party has always treated the minority related issues with utmost significance to ensure democratic system. "The UPA has always believed in development of the minority to ensure democracy. We have always tried to bring the minority in the mainstream. If the Maharashtra government has made reservations for the Muslims they would be in a better position to justify it," said Tewari.

Muslim Cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali said that it was a welcome move, which will help the Muslim community to move forward. "The reservation that Maharashtra govt has announced we welcome that. This would benefit in development of the Muslim community in Maharashtra," said Mahali.

Meanwhile, BJP President in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, termed it as unconstitutional. "The constitution framed by Ambedkar did not have any provision for reservation on basis of caste. If there is something in the constitution then we would support it by we condemn any government decision against the constitution based on caste where the government is just trying to woo Muslim votes. This decision would not stand anywhere in a court," Fadnavis said.

Talks of Congress contemplating Chavan's replacement in Maharashtra made rounds in the political circle in the wake of the party's drubbing in the recent general polls.