Criticising Justice Rangnath Mishra Commission report recommending 10 per cent reservation for Muslims, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today said religion based reservation is unconstitutional.

The report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by former CJI Ranganath Mishra was tabled by Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid in the Lok Sabha today.

The Commission has recommended 10 per cent reservation for Muslims and five per cent for other minorities in government jobs.

“VHP rejects in toto the Rangnath commission report because it is unconstitutional, anti-national and anti-Hindu,” VHP international general secretary Praveen Togadia told media persons here.

“Khurshid who had recently called salaries of CEOs as vulgar, has by tabling the Rangnath Commission report shown the country his ‘constitutional vulgarity’,” he said.

“Implementation of such a report is set to encourage religious conversions, particularly among the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes to take advantage of this development,” he said.

“The present government is trying to undo the conscious decision of the constituent assembly not to provide for religion-based reservation.”

“The implementation of the report will mean death for the Hindu SCs, STs and OBCs and their children,” he added.

Background

The central government’s decision to table the Ranganath Misra commission report in Parliament has invited agitation. Here is a small introduction of RN Mishra report and its background.

The UPA government set up the commission in 2005, during its first tenure. The four-member panel submitted its report on May 21,2007.

The Misra-led National Commission on Backward Religious and Linguistic Minorities has recommended 15 per cent reservation for minorities – 10 per cent for Muslims – in education and jobs. In case it’s difficult to achieve, the panel proposes breaking up of the 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) to give minorities an 8.4 per cent share. Six per cent of it will be for Muslims. Pro-quota parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lok Janashakti Party and Janata Dal (United) have welcomed the move. The BJP is not in favour of it. The Congress had proposed something similar in its poll manifesto.

“Reservation to backward Muslims within 27 per cent OBC quota is under active consideration,” Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said. The panel also recommends Scheduled Caste (SC) status for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians along with deprived sections, if any, among Jains and Parsis.

Only Hindu Sikhs and Buddhist Dalits have the SC status, under the Presidential Order 1950 (Para 3). “No member professing a religion different from Hinduism (Sikh and Buddh) shall be deemed to be a member of SC,” it says.

Widening quota could breach the Supreme Court’s 50 per cent cap on reservations.To implement 15 per cent reservation, the government will have to pull off a Bill requiring approval of two-thirds of members in both the Houses. Extending the SC status to Dalit Muslims and Christians will require a Bill to be cleared by simple majority, a relatively easy task.