After Marathas, now Muslims to hold silent protest

The reservation for the Muslim community was proposed by the earlier government

After the Maratha community , Muslims too have decided to stage a silent protest at Mumbra to demand 5% reservation.

Marathas recently held silent protests across Maharashtra. (Uday Deolekar/HT photo)

The community has formed Muslim Kranti Morcha committee to make arrangements for the protest. The committee, which held a a meeting in Thane on Wednesday, have urged other communities to support the agitation, irrespective of their religion or caste.

Dr Moinuddin Raut, president of the Medical Practitioners’ Association of Mumbra and the founder of the committee, said, “The Bombay high court upheld 5% reservation in education for Muslims, but the state scrapped it in March last year. The Muslim community is backward and wants reservation. The reservation should not be viewed on the basis of religion, but for education and progress of the community.”

The protest march will start at 2pm, and will witness participation of residents, professionals and students. “We want the movement to spread across the state. We have extended our support to the Maratha community and we expect all other communities, including the Marathas, to support our protest.”

The reservation for the Muslim community was proposed by the earlier government. When asked about the political overtone for the protest in the wake of the civic elections, Raut said, “We have no political agenda however we want all the political parties to support our protest.”