Congress vision document glosses over Muslim quota

NEW DELHI: Would the Congress manifesto for Uttar Pradesh elections mention 9% quota for Muslims after the vision document steered clear of the figure despite Union law minister Salman Khurshid’s contention in his defence to the Election Commission's notice?

Congress's vision document, released on Friday, promised to give reservation to minorities, a euphemism for Muslims, if it came to power. It did not mention the quantum, stating that the quota wouldbein proportion to the minorities' population and would follow the subquota principle that UPA has implemented at the Centre. The latter has carved out 4.5% sub-quota within the OBC pie for minorities.

The absence of any figure contrasts with Khurshid's recent statement in Farrukhabad that Congress would give 9% reservation to Muslims. The EC had issued a notice to the law minister on BJP's complaint that it was an attempt to win votes on religious appeal.

Thesuspenseover whether Congress would mention a specific quantum in its manifesto comes amid signs of an all-out quota war in UP. In its manifesto, BJP has promised to disband the minority quota, and the pledge has riled its supporters.

Shakeeluzzaman Ansari, member of National Commission for backward classes, said, "BJP's stand is negation of the rights of religious minorities. The 4.5%-quota is based on economic backwardness and not on religion. What the main Opposition party is saying is unconstitutional."

The speculation over Congress manifesto mentioning quota quantum of 9% stems from Khurshid's defence before the EC. The minister said he had only spoken about the Congress manifesto since he was the head of the drafting panel. He claimed not having given a specific figure, but mentioned 8% to 9%.

Sources in Congress said it was unlikely that manifesto too would mention the specific quantum since it would reduce the party's elbow room in future.

Also, it could be risky given BJP's bid to polarize the Hindu OBCs by saying they wouldloseon accountof subquotas. BJP has seized on the sub-quota theory to polarize OBCs on religious grounds. The party says 4.5% sub-quota for religious minorities at the Centre would hurt the chances of Hindu backward castes by shrinking their playfield in the 27% quota.

The 9% minority subquota promise would be campaigned as reducing the reservation for Hindus OBCs to 18 % while the vague promise of proportionate quota would rob the BJP of the opportunity to make such a drastic claim.