Mulayam goes soft on Muslim quota to woo upper castes

December 28, 2012

MulayamNew Delhi, December 28: Samajwadi Party has asked the Centre to facilitate "Muslim quota", betraying concern that a strident party stamp on minority politics can neutralize its fledgling attempts to bait upper castes and OBCs with 'promotion quota'.

SP leader Ramgopal Yadav said, "We will pass a resolution in UP assembly to ask the Centre to amend the Constitution to allow reservation for Muslims in jobs and education." He said the Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down religion-based quota like in Andhra Pradesh. "It is best done by tweaking the Constitution," he told TOI.

Ostensibly to ensure an iron-clad quota law, Mulayam Singh Yadav's caution to pass the buck to the Centre has surprised observers in view of his history of muscular minority politics. It is seen as realpolitik from the wily Yadav chieftain who may see the revived stridency on Muslim quota as a red rag for upper castes and non-Yadav backwards.

The Yadav camp is aggressively opposing reservation in promotions for SCs/STs in the hope that it would polarize upper castes and backwards in its favour — non-dalits are opposed to the Centre's move to restore quota. Samajwadis stalled the quota bill in the winter session of Parliament.

SP had all but forgotten its poll promise to provide 18% quota for Muslims but was forced to revive it after a vicious assault from bete noire Mayawati. In an interview to TOI last week, the BSP supremo accused Mulayam of lip service to social groups, saying the Akhilesh Yadav regime had done nothing to enact Muslim quota in nine months in power.

Though forced to react on an issue concerning its core vote base, Samajwadi camp is treading carefully. The move to pass an assembly resolution seems aimed at making minority quota appear a demand cutting across the secular spectrum that includes BSP and Congress.

The collective political stamp would dilute Samajwadi authorship on Muslim reservation and may soften the resultant anger among upper castes and backwards.

The apprehension over Hindu reaction to minority quota stems from the failure of Congress in UP polls this year. Rahul Gandhi led an aggressive campaign by highlighting the centrally-moved 4.5% sub-quota for Muslim OBCs. The party finished poorly, failing to win upper castes while triggering a backlash from backwards who saw the sub-quota as eating into their 27% share.

Mayawati's gambit behind attacking SP on minority quota appeared aimed at forcing 'Maulana Mulayam' to take an aggressive stance on the issue that would stymie his newly-attempted appeal among upper castes and sections of Hindu backwards.


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News Network
April 11,2020

New Delhi, Apr 11: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with chief ministers, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday urged CMs of states where the party is in power to unanimously demand for transfer of cash to every poor family.

He said the poor have lost their jobs and have exhausted their savings. They are now standing in lines to get free food, the former Union finance minister said.

Chidambaram said remonetising the poor would cost only Rs 65,000 crore, which is economically viable.

"Chief ministers Amarinder Singh, Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, V Narayanasami, Uddhav Thackeray and E Palaniswani should tell the prime minister today that just as LIVES are important LIVELIHOOD of the poor is important, he tweeted.

"The poor have lost their jobs or self-employment in the last 18 days. They have exhausted their meagre savings. Many are standing in line for food," Chidambaram said.

Can the state stand by and watch them go hungry," he asked, adding that chief ministers should demand that cash be transferred to every poor family immediately.

"Remonetise the poor should be their unanimous demand," Chidambaram said.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 31: People offered Eid-al-Adha namaz while ensuring social distancing norms at mosques in Thiruvananthapuram and Mallapuram on Friday.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Thursday announced that the Eid-al-Adha prayers can be offered in mosques of the state on Friday with a limited number of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kerala is celebrating the festival of Eid-al-Adha on Friday.

Eid al-Adha or Bakrid, also known as "Sacrifice Feast" is marked by sacrificing an animal, usually a sheep or a goat to prove their devotion and love for Allah. Post the sacrifice, devotees distribute the offering to family, friends, neighbours and especially to the poor and the needy. 

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Agencies
January 8,2020

New Delhi, Jan 8: Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) President Aishe Ghosh has filed a complaint over the violence that took place at the varsity campus on Sunday.

"I am filing this complaint for the incident in which a mob conspired and acted with common intention to assault, intimidate and attempt to murder me, and request you to register an FIR and apprehend culprits at the earliest," the complaint read.

She said that on January 5, in the afternoon, she received information from students in the campus that some students affiliated to ABVP along with other unidentified men and women had gathered with weapons like rods, sledgehammers and lathis near Ganga Bus Stop.

"I along with Nikhil Mathew (MA Labour Studies) who was also present there, were surrounded by a group of persons of that mob most of whom were wearing masks. The mob of 20-30 persons dragged me behind a car standing near the 24*7 and surrounded me and despite my pleading did not let me go and attacked me with rods while I had fallen down. I remember that one of the people was of medium height wearing a brownish-red sweatshirt with UCLA written on it. I saw his face as he was facing me and did not have a mask on and can identify him if I see him," Ghosh wrote in her complaint.

"I was attacked by the above-mentioned persons collectively and was hit on the head multiple times with iron rods. I fell to the ground and my head started bleeding, and some of them kicked me and hit me with the rod on my hand and rest of the body including my head, chest and back."

"I am attaching with this complaint a copy of the MLC which details my injuries. Nikhil Mathew tried to save me but was also hit with an iron hammer and other weapons on his head and arms. The intention of the group of men and their acts was definitely to murder me and other persons associated with me," she said.

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