Backing Muslim reservations, AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi assured AP Congress leaders that the Congress party backs 4 per cent reservations provided to Muslims by the Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy government and will implead in a case to come up before a Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court on April 18.
On the direction of Mr. Rahul Gandhi, former Union law minister Salman Khurshid had appeared on the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court. Former minister Shabbir Ali and APCC chief N. Raghuveera Reddy had filed the petition. Raghuveera Reddy met Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi. Assuring to extend the party’s support to the cause of providing reservations to Muslims, Rahul Gandhi said that Congress party is always in the forefront for the development of Muslims.
In 2004, the then government had given five per cent reservations to Muslims through an executive order that was struck down by the AP High Court. Subsequently, the AP Assembly passed an Act providing reservations which too was struck down by the High Court. The government then went for an appeal before the Supreme Court which was allowed. Taking the 50 per cent cap into account, the then government reduced the quota to 4 per cent.
The hearing will be held on April 18. 10 thousand doctors and 1 lakh engineering graduates benefited from 4 pc reservations and thousands of Muslim youth got jobs in government departments.
Siasat news