MLA Sadique a test case for Muslim reservation

The mention of Mohammad Sadique used to ring only musical bells in Punjab till the announcement of candidates by the Congress for the January Assembly elections.

None would have imagine that this seventy plus folk singer considered to be one of the weakest candidates would make it to the Assembly on Congress ticket by decimating Akali stalwart Darbara Singh Guru, a senior IAS officer hand-picked by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as his Principal Secretary, the post he held till he sought pre-mature retirement to try his luck in the political arena.

Now he is in the news for another reason. He has become a test case in the context of scheduled caste status being given to a Muslim. The Bhadaur seat from where he has won is a reserved seat and his election has been challenged by Guru, a dalit, precisely on this ground.

The Punjab and High Court has issued notice Sadique on Guru's petition. The outcome of the case would have implications at the national level.

Guru is not willing to talk saying the case was sub-judice and as such, he could not make any comment at this stage.

However, there is yet another aspect of the case and that is the political slugfest between the Congress and the Akali Dal and the case is no more confined to the two contestants.

The process to disqualify Sadique has started at yet another level. It is the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission which came into action recommending to Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tewari that his scheduled caste certificate be cancelled on the ground that he was a Muslim and as such not eligible to contest from a reserve seat.

State Congress chief Capt. Amarinder Singh has hit back saying, “We will use all the legal and democratic methods including mass protests in case the government resorts to any such arbitrary and unconstitutional practice to disqualify a duly and democratically elected legislator”.

He said the Akalis were habitual of subverting the constitutional and legal procedures to score their political ends even when they know that these would not stand the legal scrutiny.

He pointed out the case was sub-judice and the Akalis should wait for the decision of the court. The former Chief Minister said this was yet another form of vendetta against the Congress leaders, workers and representatives by the Akalis.

“If you can’t defeat them democratically then try to subvert the law and constitution to serve your own vested interests”, he remarked.

However, Akali Dal Secretary Dr. Daljeet Singh Cheema said the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Caste is a constitutional body and is not under the government’s control. Moreover, it was purely a legal issue.

What provked Capt. Amarinder singh was the action initiated by the Scheduled Caste Commission on a complaint by former Akali minister Dalip Singh Pandhi who himself is a member of the scheduled caste commission.

He had earlier complained to the Election Commission which did not take any action. Now it is the commission of which Pandhi is a member that has recommended to the district administration which issued the scheduled caste certificate to cancel the same.

Pandhi’s contention is that a Muslim cannot be a scheduled caste as only the Hindus, the Sikhs and the Budhhists can be classified as such. This constitutional provision does not apply to the Muslims and the Christians.

Under the state government provisions, there is a set procedure for cancelling a social status certificate. Such cases are referred to a three member committee which has to issue notice to the person concerned on the basis of the complaint. Final action could be taken only after providing an opportunity to both sides to argue their case. At the government level, decision would be taken by this committee.

Sadique belongs to Doom caste which has been classified as scheduled caste. However, Guru has argued in the petition that only a person from the Doom caste belonging to the Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist religion can claim social status of a scheduled caste.