NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced plans onMonday to set aside a quota of government jobs for poorer members ofIndia’s upper caste, months before what looks set to be achallenging re-election bid.
India already “reserves” jobs for impoverished and disadvantaged lowercastes for civil service jobs and college places, but this has causedresentment among other communities, who say it is unfair and freezes themout.
Modi’s plans would help households with an annual income of less than$11,000, the *Press Trust of India* news agency reported.
The change would require a change to the constitution, which caps thenumber of reserved jobs and college places at 50 percent.ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
The plans were approved by Modi’s cabinet on Monday. They require approvalfrom both houses of parliament.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in2014, but late last year it suffered painful defeats in three key stateelections to the opposition Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi, scion ofthe Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
Abhishek Singhvi, a Congress spokesman, said on Twitter that the latestmove was an “election gimmick” and “proof positive” of Modi’s “fear” oflosing power in the vote, which is due to take place by May.
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Caste-based quotas are meant to provide equal opportunities for India’spoorest and most marginalised groups. Nearly one in four Indians stilllives on less than $1.25 a day.
Demands for quotas for highly sought-after government jobs and universityplaces have escalated in recent years as unemployment has risen andconditions in rural areas have worsened.
In 2016 at least 10 people were killed when thousands of Patidars, arelatively well-off caste of farmers and traders, took to the streets inthe western state of Gujarat to demand they be included in those quotas.
Similar protests by upper caste groups have been witnessed in other statesincluding Maharashtra and Haryana. – APP/AFP
