Modi Govt Approves 10% Reservation For Upper Castes

New Delhi: In a significant development ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Narendra Modi government on Monday approved 10 per cent reservation for economically-backward upper castes in government jobs.

1. The government will move a constitutional amendment tomorrow to push for 10 per cent extra reservation for economically deprived sections among general categories.

2.The Union Cabinet which met on Monday afternoon, cleared the proposal.

3. What the decision effectively means is that those who are economically backwards and fall under the general category will now be able to enjoy benefits of reservation in government jobs, an advantage that wasn’t available to them previously.

5.The reservation will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation and the government will amend Articles 15 and 16 – which are on discrimination and equal opportunity – of the Constitution to implement it, reports said.

6. Some report suggested that those in the general category whose family income is below Rs 8 lakhs per annum and own less than 5 acres of land would stand to benefit from the reservation. The other eligibility is that a person’s residential house should be below 1000 sq ft, and the residential plot should be below 100 yards in a notified municipality area and below 200 yards in a non-notified municipality area.

7. A person who holds assets more than a pre-defined limit will not be able to enjoy the benefits of the 10 per cent reservation for economically backward upper castes.

8. NDA ally Shiv Sena welcomed the move. Party MP Arvind Ganpat Sawant reminded party founder Balasaheb Thackeray assertion that reservations should be given on the basis og economic conditions and not only the basis of caste.

9. According to constitutional experts, getting the Bill amending the constitution passed in the ongoing session looks a tall task. The Bill requires the consent of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Parliament is, however, on a stalemate.