10 pc EWS quota decision not linked to elections: Goyal

Senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal Friday said the decision to grant 10 per cent reservation to the economically poor in general category was not taken keeping in mind elections as it was under consideration for long a time.

He also expressed confidence that the BJP would once again form the government at the Centre and the country will witness "more achhe din" after that.

"Our government does not work keeping elections in mind. We take decisions that are beneficial for the country at large...This (10 per cent EWS quota) has been under discussion since a long time," the railway minister said.

He said that they realised that while the issues of social backwardness and educational backwardness were addressed, there was a large section evidently left out.

"Sections from different religions and communities were not able to get a better deal for education and job opportunities. Therefore, we thought of making some constitutional amendments," the BJP leader told reporters.

In a major move ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Union Cabinet recently cleared a 10 per cent job and education quota for the "economically weaker" sections, meeting a key demand of upper castes, a staunch BJP support base which has shown signs of a drift from the party.

The proposed reservation will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation enjoyed by the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes, taking the total reservation to 60 per cent.

Goyal also listed the achievements of the Modi-led government.

To a query whether the Modi government was able to fulfil its promise of bringing 'achhe din', he said, "I think the sad part is that many people don't realise that 'achhe din' is an ongoing process."