MUMBAI: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Sunday rejected Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertion that the principal opposition party has agreed to the Ulema Council’s demand for 10 per cent quota for Muslims in jobs and education. Speaking at a rally in Malkapur in Buldhana in the afternoon, Shah, the BJP’s main strategist, said Patole had agreed to the Ulema Council’s demand for Muslim reservations. 

“Patole has agreed to end reservations for SCs. STs and OBCs and give it to Muslims as demanded by the Ulema Council,” Shah said. The demand for 10 per cent quota for the Muslim community would eat into the benefits of Dalits, tribals and Other Backward Classes, since there is a 50 per cent cap on quota and any increase will come at the cost of existing ones, he told the gathering. 

The Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders’ lust for power has blinded them to long-term consequences of their actions on marginalised communities, Shah asserted. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Patole rejected Shah’s claim on Congress accepting the Muslim quota demand. “We (MVA) are fighting the election on core issues and will not be drawn into the Hindu-Muslim fake narrative,” Patole said. 

Speaking in Mumbai earlier in the day, Shah had said “our Constitution does not provide reservations based on religion” but the Congress was promising such quotas before coming to power. Maharashtra polls will be held on November 20, while votes will be counted on November 23.