M A I N   N E W S

Quota on economic criterion now likely
Upper caste poor to benefit
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 8
The Vajpayee government is likely to take a major decision within a week for reserving government jobs for the poor among upper castes on the economic criterion.

A Group of Ministers (GoM), recently formed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, is to meet shortly to deliberate on the issue, well-placed sources said today.

The GoM, which may meet later this week, is likely to take another decision of enhancing the ceiling of annual income for enabling more people to avail of the economic reservation benefits.

A delegation of Rajputs, cutting across party lines, met Mr Advani here yesterday and pressed for an early announcement of government job reservations for the poor among upper castes.

The Narasimha Rao government had in 1993 announced reservation for the “creamy layer” among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for those whose annual income was less than Rs 1 lakh.

The Vajpayee government is under pressure from various quarters to raise this ceiling to Rs 5 lakh. However, it is understood that the government may raise the ceiling to Rs 4 lakh.

In other words, the forthcoming meeting of the GoM is going to recommend to the government to broadbase the job reservations in the government sector not just on the ground of castes but also on the economic criterion.

This would mean that once an executive decision to this effect was taken, even the poor among the upper castes would become eligible for reservations on economic grounds.

Sources said after the GoM took a decision, the matter would come up before the Union Cabinet for approval.

The Prime Minister Vajpayee as well his deputy are keen on extending the economic reservations to the poor among the upper castes before the Assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram to be held later this year.

Economic reservation is a major issue in states like Rajasthan.

The Congress is supportive of extending the reservation policy to the poor among the forward castes on the economic criterion.

The sources claimed that the government was well within its powers to implement such an important decision without referring the matter to Parliament by getting an ordinance issued.