With the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao reiterating his commitment of 12 per cent reservations to the economically and socially backward Muslims in his Independence Day address, the State Advocate General K Ramakrishna Reddy has expedited his work to formulate a legal opinion on the issue.
Speaking after hoisting the national flag at Golkond Fort in the city, KCR said that the State Government would extend reservations to Muslims and the scheduled tribes proportionate to their population at the earliest. However, significantly he did not mention specific 12 per cent quota in his address while earlier the TRS had made an election promise of 12 per cent reservations.
His comments came in the backdrop of Sudhir committee and Justice Challappa Commission on the quota for Muslims and STs submitting their reports to the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, on the direction of the Chief Minister to submit a legal note on the question of increasing the reservations to Muslims and the STs to 12 per cent each, the advocate general K Ramakrishna
Reddy has started work to identify the legal and constitutional hurdles in its path.
Ramakrishna Reddy said that he would give his opinion to the State Government after thorough study on the issues involved. He has already identified some of the impediments, which can pose a legal challenge to the State Government’s plans. They include the Supreme Court ruling, fixing maximum limit of 50 per cent reservations in all.
The prevalent opinion among the legal experts was that any move to increase the quota for Muslims was likely to face several legal hurdles in absence of a recommendation from any State Backward Classes Commission.
Interestingly the present AG Ramakrishna Reddy was in the forefront of raising a legal challenge to the earlier executive orders and a legislation passed by the then YS Rajasekhar Reddy Government in 2005 and 2007 describing it as illegal and unconstitutional. It was on the basis of his arguments as counsel for petitioners division Bench of the then AP High Court had twice quashed the quota for Muslims. However the state government challenge the HC verdict in the Supreme Court and continued the quota for Muslims for the past 9 years benefiting thousands of Muslim students and job seekers.
Now the same lawyer, as the Advocate General of the State has been given the responsibility to steer the idea through any legal challenge likely to come up.
Those in favour of increasing the quota for Muslims and STs have pointed out that the Tamil Nadu Government has given a total of 69 per cent reservations to different groups and many other states had followed the suit increasing the reservations above the 50 per cent limit.
Tamil Nadu’s legislation for 69 per cent reservation was later included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India through 76th amendment.
The legislations, which are included in the 9th schedule can not be challenge in the court of law. But the Supreme Court constitution bench was now re-examining the issue.
legal experts say that Telangana Government can also take the same route, pass a legislation and the same could be referred to Parliament through President for their inclusion in the ninth schedule.
The Chief Minister’s repeated assertion that the Muslims and the scheduled tribes will be given quota in accordance with their ratio in population was being seen in the context that some of the provision in the constitution allow proportional reservations to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. However there was a question mark whether the same can apply to the Muslims.
Another opinion the State Government has received that it should try to keep the total reservations limited to 60 per cent but if the 12 per cent quota was given to the STs and Muslims the total quota in the state will reach 64 per cent.
Experts also point out that after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the ratio of population of scheduled tribes in the state had gone up significantly and they deserve more than present 6 per cent quota.
The inclusion of such a state legislation in ninth schedule through constitutional amendment will also require the support of the government at the Center. Whether the present BJP led coalition government at the center accept such an idea is doubtful given the constituent opposition from the BJP to any quota to the religious minorities.
An indication of the thinking of the Center to the reservations for Muslims came when the Center’s recent notification of the list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Telangana state did not include the socially and economically backward classes of Muslims.
These SEBS already enjoy 4% reservations in the state in education and government jobs. Their non inclusion in the list of the Centre means that these Muslim groups will not get the benefit of reservation in the central governmentl jobs and education.
The Centre’s list was notified on August 11 and it did not include the SEBC of Muslims of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as no such recommendation was made by the National Commission for Backward Classes.
The NDA government had also taken a stand against the reservation for backward Muslims before the Supreme Court and the BJP led government of Maharashtra has also shot down a similar proposal.