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Hours after the Supreme Court (SC) pulled up the Centre over itsdecision to have 4.5 percent sub quota for minorities, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday said that Muslims should get reservations on the basis of the Justice Rajender Sachar Committee’s recommendations. Speaking on the sidelines of SP’s parliamentary board meeting here, Yadav, however, refused to comment on apex court’s quashing of the Centre’s plea for a sub quota for Muslims. Earlier in the day, the apex court had maintained that the Centre could not go ahead with a quota on the basis of religion. A bench of Justices K.S.Radhakrishnan and J.S. Khehar criticised the government for not presenting official records in the Andhra Pradesh High Court and sought an explanation on whether any study had been conducted to determine such a quota. It said the 27 percent OBC reservation had been going on for more than a decade and that the Centre should have referred the issue to the National Commission for Backward Classes and the National Commission for Minorities before taking a decision for 4.5 percent sub-quota for Muslims. The court termed the quota move hurried, and fixed the next date of hearing for Wednesday. The Andhra Pradesh High Court on May 28 had stated that the Centre had acted in a “casual manner” in granting the sub-quota. Yadav also took on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for accusing Uttar Pradesh and Bihar of indulging in caste politics. “At least in UP we do not indulge in communal politics. We have only worked for empowerment of backwards. In Gujarat , people are being divided on communal lines,” he said.

Muslims must get reservations based on Sachar Committee recommendations: Mulayam