A peculiar situation has developed for Congress MLA Mohammed Sadique, who has won the election from Bhadaur (Reserved) constituency in Punjab. The Punjab state commission for schedule castes has directed the Ludhiana deputy commissioner to cancel the Schedule Caste certificate of Mr Sadique.
The Congress legislator is a noted Punjabi folk singer, famous for his ballads and his traditional Punjabi attire, which he even wears in the state Assembly. The latest directions by the Punjab Schedule Caste commission has the potential to develop into a major legal battle between the commission and Mr Sadique.
In a letter written by the district administration, the commission has said that “as per the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes Orders (Amendment Act), 1956, only followers of other religions can qualify as members of the SC community, while followers of the other communities cannot avail the benefits provided to the SC community.
The commission is of the view that SC certificate cannot be issued to Mohammed Sadique as he is a Muslim. The commission has asked the district administration to cancel the certificate.
Meanwhile, Mr Sadique said that the decision taken by the commission is biased and vows to fight the “injustice” in the court as the certificate was issued after following all governmental procedures.
However, the district administration is not very keen in cancelling the certificate immediately realising the sensitivity of the matter.
The district administration is shielding behind a government letter, saying such matters should be referred to a state-level board constituted to deal with such matters.