Delhi job quota move criticised

New Delhi: Political opponents of the ruling Congress party have criticised the federal government's decision to approve a quota for minority communities in government jobs.

With an eye on the upcoming state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the federal cabinet on Thursday night cleared 4.5 per cent reservation to minorities from the existing 29 per cent quota set aside for the OBCs (other backward classes).

The Manmohan Singh government has evaded the model code of conduct which comes into effect once the election schedule is announced. The Election Commission is expected to announce schedules to conduct elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, any day now.

Stealing the thunder

At the same time, the Congress party-led government has also tried to steal the thunder from some regional parties championing cause of the minorities: the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party on Thursday demanded a quota for the minorities in the nine-member Lokpal bill which was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad criticised the move, terming it unconstitutional, adding that there is no provision for religion-based reservation in the constitution.

Later, BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi termed the move an attempt to divide the society. "The Government's policy of divide and rule will not help the society," he said.

The Samajwadi Party, a strong contender for power in Uttar Pradesh, has termed 4.5 per cent reservation for minorities as an eyewash.

Too little, too late

"This is nothing. The minorities should get at least 18 per cent reservation," Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said, adding that the quota should be based on the percentage of population.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) general secretary Prakash Karat termed the government decision as too little and too late.

"This decision to give reservation to Muslims has been taken in haste. This step is not sufficient; if the government was serious about upliftment, why have they not acted on this till now? This reservation has been taken only in view of the UP elections," Karat said.