"I condemn the decision of the Union government to file a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court against the order of the AP High Court quashing quotas for minorities proposed by government," Swamy said in a statement.
Swamy said quotas for backward classes are only for those who were never ruling classes in India whereas under the government's proposal they are being extended to classes which have no socially imposed disabilities.
"Poverty, therefore, cannot be the criteria for giving quotas. For this reason, Brahmins who are poor cannot qualify for quotas. So, too Muslims and Christians since they had been ruling classes for centuries," he said in the statement.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid has said the High Court order on minority sub-quota is not a setback to the Centre which has decided to challenge it in the Supreme Court.
The government proposes to create a 4.5 per cent sub-quota for notified minority groups out of the 27 per cent reservation meant for OBCs (Other Backward Classes).
