Reservation in jobs for Muslims a hot issue in UP

Union Coal Minister Shri Prakash Jaiswal on Sunday hit back at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati over the issue surrounding reservation for Muslims and said that the Congress Party would provide reservation to them on the basis of their backwardness.

"See, every body has the right to organise a rally. Because of the popularity of Rahul Gandhi and the decisions of Congress, all the parties of the state (Uttar Pradesh) are in panic. So, it is the result of the panic that Mayawati is saying that Congress is compensating Muslims," said Jaiswal.

"Why would we compensate Muslims? We are straightway going to provide reservations to the Muslims and not because they are Muslims but on the basis of their state of backwardness," he added.

Jaiswal further said the Congress Party has done a lot of work for the development of the socially backward classes and blamed the other parties for merely compensating them.

"If somebody has done anything for the minorities, Muslims and backward classes, it is only Congress and others have just compensated them," he added.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and leader of opposition in Uttar Pradesh assembly, Shivpal Singh Yadav, accused the Mayawati Government of not paying heed to the sufferings of the Muslims during its rule.

"In four and a half years, Mayawati has not worried for the Muslims and now when the elections are near, she has now understood that the Muslims are with Samajwadi Party, after that she has started thinking about the Muslims. In all those four and a half years, she did not bother about the reservations," he told the media in New Delhi.

Yadav further said Mayawati did not bother when the Muslims were insulted by her government, and added that in case the Samajwadi Party comes to power in 2012 then the entire work of the Bahujan Samaj Partyu00a0 (BSP) Government would be thoroughly examined.

"The entire work of the government would be verified. CM, her team officials and ministers as well would be cross-examined. And after that with a thorough probe, we would handcuff them and they would be sent to jail and all their reserved wealth would be seized and then proper investigation would be done," he said.

Mayawati had earlier in the day said that 27 percent OBC quota should be increased by making constitutional amendment to include backward Muslims in it.

Addressing a massive rally in Lucknow, Mayawati said: "BSP Government favours quota for Muslims. The Centre should amend the constitution and increase 27 percent quota of OBCs to include Muslims in it. Our party will support it."

Various political outfits are leaving no stones unturned in garnering support ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, scheduled in the early part of 2012, as this would help them in establishing a firm base in the country''s fifth largest and most populous state before the next general elections