“Not worried”: Reactions as Maharashtra annuls 5% Muslim Quota
Commenting on the BJP-led Mahayuti government’s decision to scrap the 5% reservation granted to Muslims, AIMIM Maharashtra President and former MP, Imtiaz Jaleel, said the decision will not have any impact on the community
Mumbai: Commenting on the BJP-led Mahayuti government’s decision to scrap the 5% reservation granted to Muslims, AIMIM Maharashtra President and former MP, Imtiaz Jaleel, said the decision will not have any impact on the community.
He said by taking such decisions, the government’s intention is to bring Muslims on road, and protest against the government so that the BJP and other ruling parties get political benefits.
“But, the government is wrong. The community has taken it on itself to address the issue of backwardness among the Muslims. The result is that Muslims are now more educated. Their number in the UPSC has gone up… We see more Muslims who are doctors and engineers”, Imtiyaz Jaleel said.
“The government cannot dishearten Muslims by such decision”, he added.
On the other hand, State Minority Commission Chairman, Pyare Khan, defended the government's decision saying anyway the ordinance was never implemented.
"The previous government had just brought an ordinance. Where was it implemented as a law? If it had been implemented, then the reservation would not have been cancelled, and the government did not do anything”, he said.
Pyare Khan, however, admitted that the condition of Muslims has improved.
“If you look at the condition of Muslims, it has improved a bit even today. What was it like in the last seventy years?” he asked.
Arif Naseem Khan, Congress leader and former minister of minority department, said the intention of the Fadnavis government was already clear as it never tried to implement the ordinance.
Maharashtra issues GR to cancel Muslim Reservation
In another move indicative of its ant-Minority politics, the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra Wednesday Feb 18, 2026 scrapped the ordinance granting 5% reservation to some 50 Muslim sub-castes
The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government in Maharashtra had in 2014 granted 16% reservation to Marathas and 5% reservation to Muslims in government and semi-government jobs and education.
Both decisions were challenged in the Bombay High Court. While the court struck down reservation for Marathas, and reservation for Muslims in jobs, it observed the need for reservation for Muslims in education.
Despite the Bombay HC order the ordinance was never implemented, the Muslim communities did not draw any benefits as the ordinance had lapsed 11 years ago.
The BJP-led Mahayuti government has now issued a GR revoking the ordinance.
As per the Maharashtra government ordinance, reservation was granted to 50 specified Muslim sub-castes under a newly created Special Backward Category A and not to the Muslims as a whole.
After the government’s decision to revoke the ordinance granting 5% reservation to Muslims, the process of issuing caste verification certificates and validation certificates has also been stopped.
The Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra had announced 5% reservation to the 50 notified Muslim communities based on the reports by the Sachar Committee and state-appointed study group headed by Dr Mehmood-ur-Rehman that found severe educational backwardness, low representation in public services and high dropout rates among sections of the Muslim population.
The Bombay High Court had also justified the decision to grant 5% quota to the notified Muslim communities in order to address their social-economic and educational backwardness.
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