Nagpur: An angry opposition Wednesday created a ruckus in the Vidhan Parishad, the upper house of the Maharashtra state legislature, after the BJP-Shiv Sena government headed by Devendra Fadnavis refused to table the Muslim Reservation Bill in the house.
The opposition leaders protested as the government introduced the Maratha Reservation Bill in the house but gave a miss to the similar bill giving reservation to the Muslims. They demanded from the government to pass an ordinance to "protect the interests of Muslim children".
The uproar by the opposition members led to an adjournment of the Upper House twice.
During Question Hour, Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde raised the issue saying that the government should consider reservation to Muslims along with quota for the Maratha community.
Supporting Dhananjay Munde the Congress and NCP members came into the Well of the House, and started shouting slogans.
This forced Chairperson Shivajirao Deshmukh to adjourn the House for 25 minutes.
After the House reassembled and Chairperson Ramnath Motey sought to take up the Question Hour, the opposition members again marched into the Well and raised the demand for reservation to Muslims.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Girish Bapat tried to intervene saying, "Just listen, what is the stand of the government." The opposition members however appeared in no mood to listen and stood firm on their demand.
In an open display of bias against the Muslims, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance government in Maharashtra Tuesday passed the Maratha Reservation Bill in the Vidhan Saha, the lower house of the state legislature, while ignoring a similar legislation for Muslim reservation. The bill was today presented in the Maharashtra upper house for its approval.
The Congress-NCP government had issued ordinances providing 16 per cent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to the politically dominant Maratha community, and five per cent reservation to the Muslim community in June this year with an eye on the October Assembly elections.
The Bombay high court, however, passed an interim order staying the reservation for Marathas and job reservation for Muslims while allowing five per cent reservation for Muslims in educational institutions. The Supreme Court refused to interfere with the High Court order.
The introduction of the Muslim Reservation Bill in this session was important as the ordinance on Muslim reservation issued by the previous government lapsed on Wednesday. Muslims will now be devoid of reservation even after court order as the bill is not passed today.
Chief Minister Fadnavis had yesterday defended his government's move saying the final decision regarding Muslim reservation would be taken after consulting the State Advocate General.
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