The Union government has directed all educational institutions and universities to implement the 10% quota for the poor in the general category from the coming academic year, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Sunday.
“The government has already issued an official memorandum... We issued directives a couple of days ago to all universities and colleges to implement the quota from the current academic year [2019-20] itself. We hope all the State governments will implement it,” he told reporters here.
Mr. Javadekar said the general election was a mere 90 days away and the Opposition parties did not have a leader capable of taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The country needs a stable government… The general election is going to be held on the question of whether the Indian public desires a majboot (strong) government or a majboor (weak) government. The country needs the solid governance provided by the BJP so far,” he said, discounting any threat to the BJP from a grand alliance of Opposition parties.
He referred to Saturday’s rally of the Opposition parties in Kolkata and said the BJP would win an absolute majority, bagging more seats than what it had secured in the 2014 election.
Mr. Javadekar said the BJP would run a programme, Hamara ghar BJP ka ghar (Our home is the BJP’s home), across the country until the model code of conduct came into effect. “The drive will urge every family or individual supporting the BJP to put up a flag with the party symbol.”