The rally was led by SP MLAs Abu Asim Azmi and Rais Shaikh. Over 200 party workers took to the streets on their bicycles to demonstrate for quotas for Muslims in Maharashtra.
During the agitation, slogans such as ‘Maratha-Muslim bhai bhai‘, ‘Musalmano ko nyay do‘ and ‘Musalmanon ko 5% arakshan do‘ were raised. The rally kickstarted from Bhendi Bazaar but was stopped by the JJ Marg police before the SP workers could reach Mantralaya (Secretariat).
VIDEO | “Our cycle rally is being stopped. We are demanding 5 per cent reservation to the Muslim community,” says Samajwadi Party leader @abuasimazmi who led a cycle rally in Mumbai earlier today. pic.twitter.com/rdF5aa9iGC
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 6, 2023
The cops detained 43 of them and brought them to the Azad Maidan police station. During the protests, SP MLA Abu Asim Azmi told the media, “We support Maratha reservation, but at the same time ask the state government to give reservation to the Muslims, too.”
“It is deplorable that the government has not honoured the verdict of the Bombay High Court which allowed 5% Muslim quota in educational institutions,” he further added.
In videos that have now surfaced on social media, the police could be seen taking the Samajwadi party leader in a van.
जब जब जुल्मी जुल्म करेगा, सत्ता के गलियारों से,
चप्पा चप्पा गूंज उठेगा इंकलाब के नारों से।#MuslimReservation pic.twitter.com/IqTwdj9gY5— Abu Asim Azmi (@abuasimazmi) November 6, 2023
Azmi is the same politician who earlier claimed that singing Vande Mataram was against the tenets of Islam.
“Islam teaches us to bow down before the one who created this whole world. According to my religion, if I cannot recite Vande Mataram, then it does not reduce my respect for my country and my patriotism, and no one should have any objection to this,” he was heard saying.
Congress demands 5% Muslim quota in Maharashtra
It must be mentioned that the Congress party has been at the forefront of demanding reservations for Muslims in government services and Maharashtra.
“For the upliftment of the Muslim community, the reservation in education and government service is a must,” the working President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Naseem Khan said in June this year.
“I demand the present Eknath Shinde-government to ensure that the Muslims are given reservations on the basis of economic backwardness, as it would go a long way,” he further added.
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