Home Minister P Chidambaram has recently met the ministers concerned with the implementation of the Ranganath Mishra Committee report on minorities.
“Consultations are over. The home minister called all of us together for a final view. We have given the final view. The home minister will now in due course take it forward,” Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Thursday. He added that there was a ‘sense of urgency’ in the meeting. The government’s sense of urgency is being seen as congress effort win Muslim votes in forthcoming the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Khurshid said that the models adopted in the four southern states for affirmative action should provide a blueprint for the Centre. “We believe the OBC element of 
affirmative action must be rationalised and fine-tuned in the manner in which it is being done in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kartnataka,” the minister said.
Though Khurshid declined to elaborate, there were clear indications that the ‘ final proposal’ will be based on the model adopted by the four southern states which have already provided reservation for Muslims — out of the existing OBC quota.
The southern states, and recently West Bengal, have been considering majority sections of Muslims as OBCs and had provided reservation for them in jobs and education.
“ There is an objective rational way in which minorities can have equal share of opportunity in this country. How best it can be done should be left to the government,” Khurshid said.
Ranganath Misra Commission had suggested reservation for Muslims and Christians from the SC ( 15%) and OBCs ( 27%) quotas. It said 15% of the posts ( 10% for Muslims and 5% for Christians) in the central and state governments should be “ earmarked” for them — 15% of the 27% OBC reservation. It said Dalits from the two communities should be included in the SC list.
In Tamil Nadu, 3.5% of the jobs are reserved for Muslims and Christians. Andhra Pradesh passed a legislation in 2005 providing 4% reservation for Muslims. In Kerala, sections of Muslims are eligible for 12% quota.