Quota for economically weaker section will bring positive change in society: Shah

BJP chief Amit Shah said Tuesday the Modi government's decision to grant 10 per cent quota to economically weaker sections from the general category will bring a "positive" change in society and is a lesson for parties doing appeasement politics.

Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Cabinet for taking this "legitimate decision", Shah said it shows the government's efforts towards making people from all sections economically self-reliant.

"I congratulate the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his entire cabinet for this legitimate decision, which was pending for decades," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

"The commitment of the Modi government towards the economic self reliance of every section of the country is not only appreciable but also a lesson for the parties doing appeasement politics for years," the BJP chief said in a series tweets.

He said the government has given this reservation by keeping the current reservation for schedule castes, schedule tribes and other backward classes intact.

"The decision to provide 10 per cent reservation to the economically weaker in other classes is not just historic but it is a strong step towards bringing positive change in the lives of the people from a large section of our country," Shah said.

In a major move ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Union Cabinet Monday cleared a 10 per cent job and education quota for "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 government on Tuesday introduced the bill in Lok Sabha for 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions for economically backward section in the general category.

The bill was brought in on the last day of the Winter Session of the Lok Sabha and Union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot introduced it in the House amid protests by the Samajwadi Party.