The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) activists led by the MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi staged a dharna in front of Secretariat on Monday to register their protest against High Court judgement striking down four per cent reservation for Muslims.
Over 100 MIM activists, including all the MLAs and 43 corporators, staged a dharna for about half-an-hour raising slogans against the Government and demanding reservations.
Though policemen were in position and barricaded the entrance area, some activists tried to scale the Secretariat gates in vain.
The sudden protests by MIM activists disrupted traffic for sometime before they were taken away in a van by the police to Gandhinagar police station.
Later they were released on personal bond.
All the political parties in Andhra Pradesh, except the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have expressed concern over the High Court’s judgment striking down four per cent reservation for Muslims and demanded that the government take necessary measures to see that the quota was restored.
A.P. Congress Committee president D. Srinivas said the party was committed to implementation of reservations and the government would appeal against the judgment after rectifying the shortcomings, if any, in presenting its case in the court. He dismissed the claims that the quota was introduced with an eye on elections.
The Telugu Desam Party held the government responsible for the judgment alleging that the ruling party had promised the quota only as a poll ploy, while the policy (ordinance) was full of deficiencies.
This was evident from the fact that the court had not found fault with reservation as such, but gave judgment against the way the policy was framed.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti MLA T. Harish Rao said former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had misled the community by announcing reservations before elections, knowing fullwell that it would not stand legal scrutiny.
