The Narendra Modi-led government has cleared 10% reservation in college admissions and government jobs for so-called economically weaker sections (EWS), with the benefit likely to go to upper caste groups and once-dominant agrarian communities such as the Patidars, Jats, Gujjars and Marathas who have been lobbying for reservation.

As many as 190 million people could benefit from this.

The Union Cabinet approved this quota and will introduce a constitution amendment bill in Parliament on Tuesday, three senior ministers said on condition of anonymity. The Cabinet didn’t officially announce this on Monday because such announcements cannot be made when Parliament is in session. A constitution amendment bill needs two-thirds of both Houses present to pass it.

The 10% quota, the government believes, will clear the legal hurdle such reservations face.

The National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) move on the quota comes months ahead of Lok Sabha elections and, according to analysts, is targeted at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) traditional support base, some of whom have grown disenchanted with the party in recent months. They add that this may have been one reason for the party’s recent loss in the Madhya Pradesh state elections.

The bill defines EWS households as those with an annual income less than Rs 8 lakh, having land under five acres, a house less than 1000 square feet; a residential plot less than 100 sq yards in notified municipalities; and a residential plot less than 200 sq yards in other municipalities, according to the first minister. This is the same criteria used to exclude the so-called creamy layer from quotas for Other Backward Classes or OBCs.

It will benefit the poor among upper castes, and other communities such as Marathas, Jats and Gujjars, even the economically weaker among minority communities who are deprived of existing reservation benefits, the first minister added. Currently, the Scheduled Castes (15%), Scheduled Tribes (7.5%) and the Other Backward Classes (27%) get reservation benefits.

That adds up to 49.5%, and the Supreme Court (and some high courts) have shot down proposals to introduce new quotas. This follows a 1993 Supreme Court ruling.

However, states with a higher reservation preceding the ruling, such as Tamil Nadu (69%), have retained those.

The government is confident that its bill will withstand legal scrutiny because the Supreme Court judgment is with regard to quota on the grounds of social and educational backwardness. “We have tried to carve out a new category — economically backward section — and provide reservation to them through provision in the Constitution,” the second minister said.

Not everyone is convinced.

The Congress dismissed this as election gimmick.

“Why did you not think of this for four years and eight months?” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi tweeted.

“So obviously thought of as election gimmick three months before the model code. You know that you cannot exceed 50 per cent maxima so it is done only to posture that you tried.”

Asked whether the Congress will support the bill in Parliament, party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said: “The son or daughter of a person who is economically poor should get their share in education and employment. We will support all steps for this.”

The BJP leaders dismissed any possibility of a backlash from the SC or OBC communities since the latest provision “does not alter” their share in the quota.

“Moreover, it will help us consolidate support among upper caste voters. To be blunt, what is the harm if we are trying to do so?” the second minister said.

Constitutional expert and senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan dismissed the government proposal as a ‘gimmick’. “This move of the government does not correspond to any thing legal,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told his Cabinet colleagues the decision was “historic” and fulfills the long pending demand of a large section of population that was poor and had no access to reservation benefits. “This is a big social change,” the third minister quoted Modi as saying in the Cabinet meeting.

It comes months ahead of Modi seeking another term as prime minister and plays to the concerns of upper castes. The Modi government faced opposition from upper caste leaders for reversing a Supreme Court order, which diluted provisions such as immediate arrest under the SC/ST atrocities act.

The second minister said that bill will seek to amend articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution that deal with reservation in employment opportunities and educational institutions, both government and private. “A new clause to provide for 10% reservation to the economically backward will be inserted,” the minister said. “Through this, the Modi government is giving constitutional recognition to deprivation and poverty among upper castes.”

The ministers were at pains to point out that the Constitution does not cap reservation.

The upper castes have a significant share in population in northern and central India states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and others. The Jats and Gujjars dominate Haryana, Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh.

With Modi, a leader from the backward community, as the prime minister and party’s most prominent face, the BJP reaped benefits of its growing acceptance among the non-Yadav backward communities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and others. All this while, the upper castes, the BJP’s traditional voters, remained loyal to the party.

A BJP general secretary said that the party suffered in Chhattisgarh because of a complete shift of OBC votes towards the Congress. “Of late, there was a realisation about a sense of disenchantment among the upper castes too. The Congress’s ability to draw upper caste voters towards itself in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh was a worry. We needed to correct this situation,” the first minister said.

Union minister Shiv Pratap Shukla said, “This is not an attempt to placate the upper castes. We are trying to give them their right. We are not doing a favour to them. It is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s motto of ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas’.”

“Those who do not want to get this bill passed in Parliament may go ahead. We will try to get this bill passed,” he said.

Union minister and Dalit leader Ramdas Athawale, head of the Republican Party of India, a constituent of the NDA, and a Dalit leader, welcomed the move. “The issue of reservation caused a lot of conflict between Dalits and upper castes,” he said, adding that the reservation for upper castes would end friction between them and Dalits. “We expect to pass this with two-thirds majority... other parties should not be opposed to the bill.”

“It is a masterstoke, but many strokes are still pending. Modi is a strong batsman; there will be many sixes and fours,” said Athawale who is the minister of state for social justice and empowerment.

First Published: Jan 08, 2019 00:01 IST