Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale has favoured an increase in reservations by 25% to accommodate a few other castes without touching the quota of SC, ST, and OBC population.
Referring to the demand for reservation by upper castes in general and that of Kapus in Andhra Pradesh at a press conference here on Thursday, he said the Central government should change laws suitably to meet the demand for quota by those not covered.
However, 77 % of SC, ST and OBC population was getting 49.5 % reservation, and it should not be touched.
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Though the Supreme Court said that reservation should not go beyond 50%, it was not law, he said, pointing out that in Tamil Nadu the quota stood at 69%.
The creamy layer condition should be implemented, Mr. Athawale said.
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Though the Narendra Modi Government was firm on giving constitutional status to the OBC Commission and the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, the Congress was opposing it, he alleged. Recalling that his Republican Party had supported the Telangana statehood demand, the Minister said Vidarbha and Purvanchal States should be carved out of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh respectively.
Though other parties and people of Vidarbha were supporting it, the Shiv Sena was opposing it, he said. However, he opposed creation of very small States like Gorkhaland or Bodoland.
Demonetisation was aimed at ending corruption and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar supported demonetisation every 10 years, he said.
He wanted the State government to announce incentives to promote inter-caste marriages.
On his Ministry’s schemes, he said, besides pre and post-Matric scholarships to lakhs of students, foreign study was supported by giving ₹40 lakh to ₹80 lakh to each student. Venture capital ranging from ₹20 lakh to ₹15 crore was being given to Dalit businessmen. Party South president M. Venkata Swamy and AP and Telangana convener P. Siva Nageswara Rao Goud were present.