Reserved: Upper-caste vote

The wheel of reservations having turned a full circle, the highly competitive Indian politics is now focussed on the upper castes.

The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, determined to steal a march over the rival Congress-camp, today decided to accord reservations to 8216;8216;economically backward classes8217;8217; EBCs, less than two months ahead of Assembly polls in five states.

The EBCs, as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed after a Cabinet meeting here, are 8216;8216;not covered by the existing reservation policy.8217;8217; They imply the poor from amongst the upper castes. The Cabinet has decided to set up a commission to elicit the views of state governments and work out the modalities.

The bureaucratic nitty-gritty would warrant a long gestation period for the measure to take a concrete shape. However, the BJP is content with the current posturing. 8216;8216;We welcome the Government8217;s decision,8217;8217; said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar, adding the Cabinet decision 8216;8216;marks the recognition of economic backwardness as a legitimate ground for according reservations8217;8217;.

Congress spokesperson S Jaipal Reddy, while offering to back the move, however, said it was 8216;8216;neither new, nor adequate8217;8217;. He reminded the BJP that the Congress had advocated reservations for the upper-caste poor much earlier. The BJP, he said, should have come out with a Constitutional amendment if it was sincere about its stated goal. The decision caught the Left Parties off-guard. While the CPI-M leaders did not want to comment on the government8217;s move without having a full discussion on the issue within the party, CPI leader D. Raja said, 8216;8216;This is Congress and BJP8217;s poll gimmick to hoodwink the common people. No employment is being generated so what are they trying to reserve? On the one hand, they are trying to privatise the public sector units and on the other, they are taking about reservation. Which service will they reserve, when the government8217;s employment sources are drying up?8217;8217; Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram are scheduled to go to polls next month. The Parliament session would commence only in December. Therefore, even if the Government plans an amendment bill, it will not be able to do so before the polls are over in these states. The Cabinet meeting, presided over by P M Atal Behari Vajpayee, decided to amend Clause 4 of Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, to incorporate the expression 8216;8216;Economically Backward Class8217;8217;.

Swaraj said an additional clause would be added to Article 16 to empower the states to fix reservation in favour of a backward class, including EBC. The Commission, comprising a chairman, four members and a secretary, will work out modalities in consultation with state governments and Union Territories. It will further suggest the quantum of reservation, criteria for identification of EBCs and present a report to the President.

Swaraj said that as per a Supreme Court order, 10 per cent reservation for EBCs was constitutionally invalid and that Article 16 provided for reservation only to socially and educationally backward classes; economic backwardness was not a criterion. The order also stated the reservation under Clause 4 of Article 16 should not exceed 50 per cent. Swaraj added the Attorney-General had suggested that in order to overcome the constraints emerging from the apex court order, amendments be made to Clause 4 of Articles 15 and 16 to include a reference to the EBCs. Another amendment will enable states to provide more that 50 per cent in services by introducing a suitable clause under Article 16, she said.

Swaraj said the Group of Ministers had last month decided that Cabinet approval in principle be sought for the proposed reservation as well as appointment of a commission. Though the issue has been finding a ritualistic mention in election manifestoes of parties, it assumed a sudden importance after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote to the Centre to take measures for providing 14 per cent reservations to upper castes. His posturing was rooted in an agitation by the Social Justice Front, pressing for upper-caste reservations.

The Front, comprising some disgruntled BJP leaders, is known to enjoy Gehlot8217;s support. At this, Vajpayee had promised reservations to the upper-caste poor while addressing a rally at Jaipur on August 10.