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Mayawati seeks quota for Dalit Muslims, Christians

Chief Minister Mayawati

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Mayawati has demanded separate reservation in Government jobs for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims on the lines of the quota fixed for the Scheduled Castes. According to her, the socio-economic status of these two groups is no different from that of the other Scheduled Castes.

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday, the Chief Minister cited Paragraph 3 of the Presidential Order 1950 of the Central Government which had barred reservation benefits to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims. She said members of Scheduled Castes who had converted to Christianity and/or had embraced Islam should be given quota benefits without disturbing the reservation applicable to the Scheduled Castes.

Ms. Mayawati said such an arrangement would not infringe upon the existing system of reservations and would enable them to avail of the quota benefits in Government services.

For including the Dalit Christians and the Dalit Muslims in the quota system, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has advocated an amendment to the Constitution. She has urged Dr. Singh to have the Constitution amended to remove the 50 per cent cut-off line for reservation fixed by the Supreme Court. She said the amendment should be included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution for making the arrangement permanent.

Urging the Prime Minister to accept her request, the Chief Minister said the move would enable the Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims to get reservation in government jobs like the other SCs.

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