Elections 2019: Modi Government benefited from upper castes with 10% reservation

Elections 2019: Modi Government benefited from upper castes with 10% reservation

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government has decided to grant 10% reservation to economically weaker sections, especially upper castes that are the main voter of the party. The decision has been taken to monitor the Lok Sabha elections 2019.

Although the final references to the reservation have not yet been made public, but the people have been informed of the developments, "Beneficiaries of the weaker section have less than 8 lakhs of annual income, less than 5 hectares of agricultural land, residential property of less than 1,000 square feet and a residential plot which is less than 109 square yards in a notified municipality and 209 square yards in the non-notified municipality. "

This decision is an attempt to address the concerns of the ongoing upper castes who are angry with their recent step of restoring the provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

“My compliments to PM and his cabinet for giving approval to 10% reservation in jobs & higher education to economically backward persons in the general category. This shall provide much-needed push to the aspirations of this class of people,” Himanta Biswa Sarma, senior BJP leader and minister in the Assam government, tweeted on Monday.

Senior BJP leaders argue that the objective of the decision is to broaden the social justice net to enable more people from different backgrounds to benefit from government jobs and education.

“We have received several reports and feedback that people, especially youth, felt that they were not part of the social justice net of the government. The idea to allow reservations for economically weaker sections would allow different communities, who are otherwise facing financial trouble, to benefit,” said a senior BJP leader aware of the development.

BJP leaders also point out that in the last four years of the ruling at the centre, different communities have led agitations demanding reservations, including Jats in Haryana, Patels in Gujarat, and Marathas in Maharashtra. All three states are ruled by the BJP and their governments had to face the ire of these communities.

“This decision should address the demands of Patels, Marathas and Jats in a way. There is a genuine concern among members of the upper caste who are not financially stable, the government is duty-bound to address the concerns of the upper castes,” the BJP leader added.

BJP leaders explained that there was a growing sentiment within the upper castes that the BJP government was only working for socially weaker sections to win elections and that the party was not protecting the rights of the communities that helped it win the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

“We were being seen as a party which was trying to change its social base by forgetting about the demands of its core voters. This decision would neutralize the sentiment that the BJP no longer cares for its core constituency. It is difficult to ascertain whether this decision would benefit the party in the long run,” said a senior BJP leader from Lucknow said.

A prominent Dalit thinker and writer questioned on the ethical basis of the decision.

SOURCE: Live Mint

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