Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind to challenge Karnataka’s move to scrap OBC Muslim quota in court

The 4% OBC Muslim quota has been divided between the Vokkaligas and Lingayats under the newly-created OBC groups 2C and 2D.
Maulana Mahmood Madani
Maulana Mahmood Madani
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A day after the Karnataka government announced that it would remove Muslims from the OBC category and accommodate reservations for them under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind — an organisation of Indian Muslim scholars — declared that it would challenge the decision in court. On Friday, March 24, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced his Cabinet’s decision to remove Muslims from the 2B category of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), which gave them 4% reservation. Maulana Mahmood Madani, president of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, called the move a "grave injustice meted out to Muslims".

Speaking to reporters in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, Madani said, "The decision does not go hand-in-hand with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's [promise of] Pasmanda Muslim upliftment. On one hand, the Prime Minister says he is promoting development policy for the marginalised section of Muslims, and on the other hand, his party's government in Karnataka is snatching away reservation from them and distributing it among other classes."

The 4% OBC Muslim quota which was revoked, has been divided between Vokkaligas and Lingayats under the newly-created OBC groups, 2C and 2D. Muslims eligible for reservation have now been categorised under EWS in Karnataka. Madani argued that as per various official statistics and reports, the Muslims of India are economically and educationally at the lowest rung of development. "Hence, no community deserves reservation more than the Muslims," Madani said. Calling the Karnataka government’s decision "the worst example of electoral opportunism and appeasement," Madani said, "This move only aims to create discord between communities. We will approach the court against it."

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