BJP Rajya Sabha member K. Laxman on Monday alleged that the Opposition-ruled states had wrongly included Muslims in the OBC category and were providing them reservation benefits.

During Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Laxman, who is also the president of the BJP’s OBC Morcha, said the reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEdBCs) was being misused in the name of religion.

“For vote bank politics, some states are extending the reservation to Muslims. In Karnataka, the entire Muslim community is treated as one caste, which is given 4 per cent reservation exclusively. In Bengal, about 90 per cent of Muslims have been included as OBCs. In Tamil Nadu, the Muslim groups in the OBC list constitute 95 per cent of the Muslim population and (the state has) 3.5 per cent reservation for backward-class Muslims. In Kerala, Muslims have been listed as one caste and their reservation has been increased from 10 per cent to 12 per cent,” Laxman said.

He referred to the Andhra Pradesh government’s 2011 decision to carve out a 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities within the 27 per cent overall OBC reservation to ensure that minorities get their due. It was struck down by the high court in 2012.

“In the name of reservation for OBCs, the Muslims are enjoying (the benefits). I request the government to order a comprehensive review of religion-based reservations. Our policy must focus on SEdBCs, not on religious identities alone,” he said.

The Opposition protested Laxman’s criticism of the quota benefits to Muslims. The Opposition parties sought permission to speak but were denied, following which they staged a walkout.

Leader of the House J.P. Nadda alleged that the Opposition parties have no faith in the democratic parliamentary procedure and the Constitution. He said governments of the INDIA bloc parties had been doing vote-bank and appeasement politics.

“Laxmanji said there is no provision for reservation for Muslims under the OBC quota. It is related to the Constitution. Andhra Pradesh High Court struck it down. Baba Saheb (Bhimrao Ambedkar) had said the OBC category is meant for Hindus only. They (Opposition) try to divide the society,” Nadda said.

Congress MP Mukul Wasnik and RJD MP Manoj Jha told The Telegraph that the BJP MPs were misrepresenting facts. Jha said that affirmative action for backward classes was provided under Articles 340, 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution. He said the Mandal Commission, which recommended 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, had permitted inclusion of the SEdBCs from different communities.

“OBCs are not merely caste-based. The Mandal Commission report listed out criteria for social and educational backwardness. It allowed minorities to be part of OBCs,” Jha said.

A retired bureaucrat said Muslim castes and communities accounting for 75 to 85 per cent of the total population of the community in India had been included in the OBC list, and castes and communities accounting for the bulk of the population of non-Scheduled Tribe Christians had been counted among backward classes.