Congress rebuts ‘appeasement’ charge, cites PM Modi’s past remarks on Muslim reservations

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday pushed back against allegations that the Indian National Congress supports religious appeasement, after party members were criticised in the Rajya Sabha over their stance on reservations for Muslims based on backwardness.

In a statement issued shortly after the exchange in the Upper House, Ramesh said, “Today in the Rajya Sabha, the Indian National Congress was accused of appeasement because of its stance on reservations for Muslims on the basis of backwardness.” He rejected the charge and pointed to what he described as inconsistencies in the ruling side’s position.

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Ramesh invoked comments made earlier by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating, “Here is what the Prime Minister had himself said on this subject on February 9, 2022. The PM should tell his MPs to do better homework.”

While he did not reproduce the full remarks in the statement, the Congress leader suggested that the Prime Minister’s earlier position undermines the criticism now being directed at the opposition.

The controversy centres on the long-running debate over whether reservations can be extended to Muslim communities on the basis of social and educational backwardness rather than religion alone.

The Congress has maintained that any such provisions must be grounded in constitutional principles and empirical indicators of deprivation, rather than faith identity.

The issue has frequently surfaced in parliamentary debates, with critics arguing that extending reservations to Muslims risks blurring the constitutional distinction between caste-based affirmative action and religion-based benefits.

Supporters, however, contend that many Muslim communities fall within recognised backward classes and are therefore eligible under existing frameworks.

Monday’s exchange in the Rajya Sabha reflects the continuing political contest over how affirmative action policies should be interpreted and implemented, particularly as parties sharpen their positions ahead of upcoming electoral battles.