Lok Sabha today passed the bill to provide 10 per cent quota in jobs and education to general category candidates who belong to economically weaker sections. Most of the opposition parties backed the bill, but alleged the move to provide reservation to the economically weaker sections to be a political gimmick, in a four-and-half-hour debate. The bill, in a first, extends reservation to upper castes.
The bill will likely be presented in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow, where the bill stands a fair chance. The Rajya Sabha session has been extended till Wednesday, while the winter session of the Lok Sabha has been adjourned till the next session.
The bill in the Lok Sabha was passed with 323 lawmakers voting for it and three voting against it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi were both present and voting.
Among the opposition parties, the Samajwadi party, Telangana Rashtriya Samithi, Trinamool Congress, the Left and the Congress said they would support the bill. Among others, Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal or BJD, Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Upendra Kushwaha, who walked out of the NDA last month, supported the bill.
Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM and Tamil Nadu's AIADMK opposed the bill. The AIADMK walked out of the house ahead of the voting.
