OBC leader Alpesh Thakor today said the 10 per cent quota for Economically Backward Classes, announced recently by Gujarat government in the wake of an agitation by Patel community, could be the first step towards abolishing caste-based reservations.
Thakor, who heads OBC-SC-ST (OSS) Ekta Manch, said he would seek explanation from all the political parties in the country about this new quota.
"We are not against this new reservation. But we fear it might be an attempt to gradually abolish the reservation system...RSS leaders have expressed such views in the recent past," said Thakor at a press conference here.
"Gujarat has been a political laboratory for RSS and BJP. So we suspect such a move by BJP-led government might be the first step towards abolishing the prevalent reservation system and implementing a new system of reservation where economic condition will be taken into account, not the caste," he said.
The new EBC quota also violates the Supreme Court's cap of 50 per cent on reservations, he said.
Thakor also questioned the family income limit of Rs 6 lakh per annum for eligibility under the EBC quota.
"Can a family having income as high as Rs 6 lakh be considered poor? If the government really wants to serve the needy, then the limit should not be more than Rs 3 lakh. In addition, that family must not possess more than one acre of land," he said.
Thakor also criticised Congress for demanding an increase
in EBC quota.
"Gujarat Congress leaders demanded that EBC quota should be 20 per cent, as general castes constitute 22 per cent of state population. If that is the criterion, then OBCs, SCs and STs are 58 per cent. So our quota should be 58 per cent, not 49 per cent. Will Congress demand an increase in our quota?" he asked.
He said his organisation will write to political leaders, including Lalu Prasad Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Mayawati, to seek their view on EBC quota in Gujarat and its long-term implications.
"We are also planning to meet Gujarat BJP chief and state minister Vijay Rupani....We will also raise our demand for a new law to strictly implement OBC, SC, ST reservation in the state," he added.
