Facing flak from Muslim political outfits and the community for failing to deliver on its poll promise of providing 18 percent quota to Muslims in government jobs and education institutions , the Samajwadi party government is likely to bring a 'Sankalp' (resolution) in the state Assembly for providing reservations to the muslims.
The resolution, after passage by the state Assembly, will be sent to the Centre for further action. Supreme Court in 1992 had fixed a cap of 50 per cent on the quota.
Brief session of the state Assembly is likely to convened in last week of May. The assembly session can be called any day by the Speaker of the assembly Mata Prasad Pandey, since after the conclusion of the budget session, the house instead of being prorogued was adjourned sine die. The budget session had commenced on February 18 and the house was adjourned sine die on March 26. Usually the house is prorogued after the budget session, the Speaker however decided to adjourn the house sine die.
The SP government had earlier planned to bring this resolution in the state assembly in August last year during the monsoon session of the house. The matter was however deferred and the government has not assigned any reason.
The thrust of the resolution is likely to be on providing reservation to the muslims in government jobs. The official sources said the resolution to be moved in the state assembly by the minority affairs minister Azam Khan will be a statement of intent of the government to implement the Sacchar committee report which includes 18% reservation for the Muslims. The reservation will be not just in government jobs, but in tenders and state government’s schemes too.
"The only difference between the prorogue and the sine die adjournment of the house is that the Speaker has the discretion to summon the house if adjourned sine die and if prorogued then Cabinet takes up the matter," said Pradeep Dube Principal Secretary of the UP Assembly.
"As per the Rule 86 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of UP legislative Assembly, 1958, prior notice before the seven days of the commencement of the assembly session has to be submitted to the assembly secretariat. So far the secretariat has no information about the resolution by the government. For the government the rules can be relaxed and it can also be 24 hours’’, said Pradeep Dube.
Rajendra Prasad Pandey, former principal secretary of the state assembly said,
"Sankalp (resolution) passed by the state assembly has more gravity then the 'prastav' (motion). 'Sankalp' is brought only for important issue like the BSP government in November 2011 had introduced a `Sankalp’ for the division of UP into four state and the same was sent to the Centre for further action’’.
Muslims have been traditionally loyal to the SP, and had voted aggressively for it in the assembly polls in 2012 assembly polls, but appears to have been disenchanted with the Akhilesh Yadav government because of its failure to honour the poll promise and spate of communal riots across the state in last four years.
Akhilesh Yadav during its little over four years of tenure since March 2012, had promised quota to muslims twice – first in the election manifesto released ahead of the 2012 state assembly election and later in 2014 released before the parliament elections.
SP on both the occasions in 2012 and 2014 hadpromised separate reservation to “all the Muslims in accordance with their population in the state’’. SP had promised that `` the Muslims would be treated on a par with the Dalits, who too have been given reservation in terms of their numbers. Quota for the minority community would be given in the light of Sachar Committee's recommendations by treating the Muslims as ‘most backwards' from socio-economic and educational aspects,” .
In 2014 Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh releasing the party manifesto in lucknow, reiterated his party's commitment to introduce 18 percent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the numerically-significant Muslims.
The Sachar panel was set up by the then Congress led UPA government in 2005 to prepare the latest report on the social, economic and educational conditions of the muslim community in the country. It was headed by the former chief Justice of the Delhi High court Rajinder Sacchar. The committee after visiting all the states with considerable muslim population had submitted its report in November 2006 to the Union government. The Committee had found that the muslims were in a bad state. Their social, economic and educational conditions were poor. It recommended special provisions and schemes for Muslims, proportionate to their share in population.