Govt springs surprise on rivals, clears 10% quota for general category poor

Allies and Opposition parties support move; Congress calls it 'election gimmick'

The Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre sprang a surprise on political rivals by announcing a 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education for the economically backward in the general category. The Cabinet has approved the Bill.

This comes with the Lok Sabha elections round the corner and weeks after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) defeat in Assembly elections in the Hindi heartland states, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh (MP).

Such a quota has been a long-standing demand of the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as well. However, it has never passed legal muster.  To facilitate this,