10% quota violates the Constitution, says Sharad Pawar

NEW DELHI, Jan 14, 2019, The Hindu. The Bill seeking to extend 10% reservation to the economically backward among the general category was “inimical” to constitutional structures, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said on Sunday, reported The Hindu.

Speaking in Kolhapur, Mr. Pawar said such “gimmicks” by the Narendra Modi government just before the Lok Sabha election would have little impact on the electorate.

“The Modi government is taking such decisions in great haste after it has sensed the disgruntlement among the people in its recent poll debacle in five States… But the public is smart enough to see through this eyewash,” he said.

The NCP chief said the BJP government planned to extend the Budget session of Parliament to pass more “populist” Bills. Claiming that the 10% quota for the weaker sections among the general category would not endure in court, Mr. Pawar said the Supreme Court had clearly stated in the past that the cap on reservation could not rise above the 50% limit.

“According to experts, amending Articles 15 and 16 to permit reservation above 50% is harmful to the underlying principles of the Constitution. Moreover this move is not likely to endure in a court,” said the NCP chief.

‘Who will benefit?’

Mr. Pawar expressed strong reservations as to who would ultimately benefit from the 10% quota.

“Perhaps a few educated youth in the urban pockets of Maharashtra would avail of the benefit, but the majority of the unreserved category youth in the rural hinterlands would fall behind in this case,” the NCP chief said.

On films like The Accidental Prime Minister, based on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the biopic on the late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, Mr. Pawar said such films would not make much of an impression on voters.

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