Not a poll stunt, Congress says about Minority quota

New Delhi: The Congress Friday rejected the opposition's allegation that the 4.5 percent sub-quota for backward minorities was a poll stunt, saying it was the government's responsibility to help the backward sections.

Talking to reporters here, general secretary Digvijay Singh said the reservation was otherwise not proving beneficial for minorities.

"They have been given a fixed quota so that the backward minorities can get 4.5 percent out of the 27 percent reserved for backward castes. Earlier they were left out of the benefits of quota," he said.

"It was a poll promise which we have fulfilled," Digvijay Singh said.

Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said it would help backward Muslims come into the mainstream.

"Appeasement is when you give something extra to someone... government has taken this historical step. It will help backward Muslims to come into the mainstream of the country," he said.

"This is the responsibility of any government to support and help the backward," he said.

In what is being seen as a pre-poll move ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections next year, the government decided to create a 4.5 percent sub-quota for backward minorities within the 27 percent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government jobs and admission to educational institutions.

The decision was approved by the union cabinet Thursday in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

 

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Shaikh Nasir (extreme left) with Bollywood star Amitabh Bacchan after receiving the Lokmat Maharashtrian of The Year award December 21, 2011.