Congress was never serious about Muslim quota: Azam Khan

Lucknow, June 14 (IANS) The ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh has blamed the Congress for failing to get reservation for Muslims, and said the latter was never serious about improving the lot of the minorities.

State Urban Development Minister Mohammed Azam Khan Wednesday said the Congress always considered the Muslim community as a mere vote bank that had to be "pampered" before the elections.

Khan's remarks came against the backdrop of the Supreme Court rejecting the Congress-led central government's plea for suspending the Andhra Pradesh High Court verdict quashing a 4.5 percent sub-quota for religious minorities in central educational institutions.

Alleging that the Congress was not "clear hearted" about the Muslim reservation, Khan said the matter would not have stuck like this if the Congress had presented the facts correctly before courts.

Recalling how the Congress raked up the issue of 4.5 percent Muslim sub-quota within the 27 percent reservation for the Other Backward Classes in government jobs during the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Khan said all the "drama" was just to get Muslim votes.

The Samajwadi Party leader also said his party was committed to ensuring Muslim reservation and that a committee of legal luminaries, religious leaders and other dignitaries would be constituted to formulate the policy in this regard.