It's A Win For PM, Say BJP Leaders On Supreme Court's Quota For Poor Verdict

The BJP on Monday lauded the Supreme Court's verdict upholding the EWS quota as "historic" and said it is a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his "mission" to provide social justice to the country's poor.

The ruling party also slammed Congress spokesperson Udit Raj for his allegation following the verdict that the top  court is "casteist", saying it has exposed the opposition party's "anti-poor" mindset.

Hailing the verdict, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said it is a slap on the face of the political parties with vested interests that have tried to sow discord among the citizens of the country with their propaganda.

"Constitutional validity to 10% quota for EWS will open up new doors of opportunities for the economically weaker sections, especially in admission to HEIs and central govt jobs, further strengthen social justice as well as the spirit of 'Sabka Sath and Sabka Vikas'," Pradhan said in a tweet.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia hit out at Mr Raj, who is a Scheduled Caste (SC) leader, while praising the top court's verdict and its stamp of approval on PM Modi's idea behind the constitutional amendment aimed at furthering social justice as historic.

He said the remarks of Mr Raj amounted to contempt of the court, which should initiate proceedings against the Congress leader.

The Congress, however, also welcomed the judgment. In a statement, it claimed that the EWS reservation was the outcome of a process initiated by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government in 2005-06 with the appointment of the Sinho Commission, which submitted its report in July 2010.

Parliament passed the constitutional amendment bill, brought by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, in 2019.

BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh praised the court order and tweeted: "Supreme Court upholds the legality of EWS reservation for unreserved sections. Another big credit for PM Narendra Modi's vision of Gareeb Kalyan. A big boost in the direction of social justice." Echoing the view, another BJP general secretary C T Ravi said the verdict is yet another victory for Modi in his mission to provide social justice to the country's poor.

Mr Bhatia said PM Modi has always worked to empower the poor.

Reacting to the judgment, Mr Raj had tweeted that there is no doubt that the Supreme Court is casteist. When it came to enhancing the quota for the SCs, Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the court cited the 50 per cent bar but took a U-turn in the matter of reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), he alleged.

Mr Bhatia dubbed the remarks of Raj as scurrilous and asked Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to clarify whether this is the stand of his party too.

While one can criticise and challenge the order, to say that the court is casteist and it took a U-turn shows that the Congress continues with its mindset of attacking institutions, he said, adding that Raj had earlier targeted President Droupadi Murmu, the first tribal to occupy the position, as well.

Mr Raj later clarified that he does not oppose the EWS quota but had only raised the issue of the mindset of the Supreme Court judges. Had the matter pertained to SCs, STs and OBCs, the verdict would have been different, he claimed.

"These people (judges) are of a casteist mindset," the Congress leader alleged, adding that he was speaking in his personal capacity and not representing the Congress's stand on the issue.

The Supreme Court, by a majority 3:2 view, upheld the validity of the 103rd Constitution amendment providing a 10-per cent reservation to those belonging to the EWS category in education and government jobs.

The top court said the law on the EWS quota does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)