“The Andhra Pradesh High Court has showed us the way and we are going to challenge the state government’s decision in the Calcutta High Court. What the state government has done is unconstitutional as you cannot provide reservation on the basis of religion,” state BJP president Rahul Sinha said over phone from Delhi. He said he would take up the matter with party president Nitin Gadkari tomorrow and the state unit will observe a protest day on February 13 on the issue.

The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh enacted a law on June 23, 2007 providing for 4 per cent reservation in education and government jobs to 15 backward communities among the Muslims. After a lot of legal wrangles, the High Court today declared the Act null and void.