What are some loopholes in 10 percent quota for general category?

· You have to earn less than Rs 8 lakh annually.

· You must own less than 5 acres of land.

If you focus on the first criterion, nearly 100 percent of Indians are qualified for this 10 percent reservation.

(Courtesy: Lokmat)

Rs 8 lakhs annually translates to Rs 66,666 per month. And according to the last consensus, the per capita income of rural Indians is Rs 4,481/month and of urban Indians is Rs 10,281/month.

So, even when five people are working in a family, their collective annual income would be less than Rs 66,666.

In short, barring the 5-acre land criterion, theoretically, everyone in India is qualified for 10 percent reservation.

Even if you focus on those who own more than 5-acre land, it’s not to assume that the number is incredibly low. According to the consensus, 8.25 percent of rural households have a monthly income of more than Rs 10,000.

Also read: How will 10 percent reservation for EWS affect Modi and BJP in General Election 2019?

More than 90 percent of rural India earns less than Rs 10,000, which also suggests they own less than 5-acres of land.

So, again, the proposed and passed constitution amendment bill covers almost all. And this is perhaps its biggest loophole, rendering its purpose of helping “economically weaker section” to death.

(Courtesy: Hindustan Live)

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The people in the lower end already have reservations and quotas in jobs and education. So, when you take them out of this equation, all you’re left with is the influential people in the upper caste (across religions), who already enjoy decent wealth.

You get brahmins, Rajputs, Jats, and the Marathas – none of who requires a reservation in the first place.

Pretty insane.

Wait for this.

29 lakh posts lay vacant already across different government departments. There are over 13 lakh vacancies in the education sector, 4.43 vacancies in the police force and 2.53 lakh vacancies in the railway.

Even with all these vacancies, millions of (qualified) Indian youths remain unemployed. How will giving quotas help here? Did the parliament stay up late and discussed this massive problem, things would have headed to something better.

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And that’s not all. The central government has managed to get this 10 percent quota constitution amendment bill in the parliament amid all the ruckus – although there awaits judicial scrutiny – there bounds to be many political repercussions and mishaps.

Of course, the move would benefit BJP an awful lot in the General Election 2019—as the opposition fears and are crying about. After all, the government has finally acted in some way on the long-standing demands of the upper castes for reservation.

Also read: Which are the biggest Reservation Movements that happened during the Modi government?

In addition, this 10 percent quota for the general category has now triggered the leaders of lower caste, SC/ST and OBC.

(Courtesy: The Bihar Post)

LJP chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who’s also an ally to BJP, is now demanding similar reservation in private sector and judiciary. BSP chief Mayawati is asking the government to increase the quota for SC, ST, and OBCs in proportion to the growth of the population. SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav now wants the government to increase the reservation cap for OBC from 50 percent to 54 percent.

These aren’t just the loopholes. These are dents in the democratic structure of a country that’s supposed to treat citizens equally by providing them equal opportunities and NOT reservations.

If the government and respected bodies work honestly, the need for such quota for “economically weaker section” wouldn’t arise. Because there wouldn’t be such sections in the first place.