Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP K Laxman on Monday accused states like Telangana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala of including all Muslims in the quota reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and violating the terms of such reservation, prompting the Opposition to walk out of the Rajya Sabha.
Speaking during Zero Hour, Laxman said OBC reservation is being misused in the name of religion. He added that states such as Telangana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala had violated the reservation policy, which did not provide for quotas on the basis of religion, and demanded its review.
Laxman cited Supreme Court rulings in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu questioning the practice of extending the OBC quota to all Muslims. “There should be a comprehensive review of such religion-based reservations,” Laxman said, amid protests from the opposition.
Union Minister and Leader of the House JP Nadda criticized the opposition’s withdrawal. He said the opposition, especially Congress, “did not respect the Constitution and parliamentary procedures.” Nadda said that the opposition does not care about discussions and does not respect democratic values or the constitution. He alleged that the opposition parties consider Muslims as a vote bank and indulge in appeasement politics.
The BJP criticized the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal for including Muslim groups in the OBC list between 2010 and 2012. In Karnataka, the party targeted the Congress government for providing 4% reservation for Muslims in government contracts under the OBC quota.
