10% quota move will backfire on BJP; 'bahujans' feeling duped: Tejashwi

The government has amended the Constitution without any report from any commission or social and economic survey, said Tejashwi.

The move of granting 10 per cent quota to general category poor will "backfire" on the BJP as the "bahujans" (majority) are feeling duped, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has said.

The Modi government met a key demand of those castes, which had so far not been covered under reservation benefits, earlier this month as it got a Constitution amendment bill passed in Parliament to give 10 per cent quota in education and jobs for the general category poor.

Yadav slammed the government's move as hasty and said that like demonetisation it was implemented hurriedly. Reservation was not a poverty alleviation programme, he added.

The government has amended the Constitution without any report from any commission or social and economic survey, he told PTI.

"To make such a provision, the government must have supporting data and figures, but the Modi government doesn't have that. They implemented it in a hurry, just like demonetisation. The BJP will bear the consequences of it," the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader said.

Asked if the government's move to give reservation to the general category poor will have an impact on the Lok Sabha polls, Yadav said contrary to the general perception, the reservation for the "so-called poor upper caste" persons will "backfire" on the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The Bahujan class is feeling duped... While it was stated that there is a cap of 50 per cent on reservations, but, suddenly the government opens a pandora's box and exceeds reservations beyond 50 per cent, that too without any demand, agitation or movement by beneficiary classes," the former Bihar deputy chief minister said.

"Now, the honourable Supreme Court will have to play by its own yardstick," he said.

'Bahujans', a reference to communities seen as traditionally backward and poor, were denied further reservation in the name of this 50 per cent limit, Yadav said.

Reservation is for ensuring representation to those who have been suffering for ages due to all kinds of inhuman atrocities and restrictions in the name of caste, he said.

"If atrocities were heaped in the name of caste, how can assertive steps or remedial measures be in the name of economic status," Yadav asked.

The RJD leader alleged the government was changing the narrative from caste-based atrocities to economic status to suit its "upper caste mindset".

"On what basis did the government give 10 per cent reservation to those who are already enjoying de facto 50 per cent reservation and in reality much more than that. And what about the caste-based census data? Why it is being hidden by the government? Is it banana republic or a democracy" he asked.

Business Standard

Ahead of 2019 elections, Modi govt wants an expansionary economic policy

Weak consumer spending and the fragile farm sector have already been a drag on economic growth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party is in favour of an expansionary economic policy and does not consider the government's plan to keep the fiscal deficit to 3.3 per cent of GDP as "sacrosanct", a party spokesman told Reuters.

Ahead of a general election that must be held by May and after a string of losses in recent state polls, the government run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced several stimulus measures for the countryside where millions of farmers are grappling with low crop prices. Other fiscal moves have been aimed at helping small businesses.(Business Standard)

The measures are likely to be a drain on finances in Asia's third-biggest economy, though the Modi administration is expected to get the Reserve Bank of India to agree to transfer an interim dividend of 300-400 billion rupees ($4.32 billion-$5.8 billion) to the government by March, Reuters reported last week quoting sources.

ALSO READ: Top BJP leaders to hold press conferences across country for next 4 days

Weak consumer spending and the fragile farm sector have already been a drag on economic growth, creating a headache for Modi as he struggles to meet ambitious job creation targets.

India lost 11 million jobs last year, with around 83 per cent in rural areas, according to independent think-tank the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, as operational costs surged for small businesses. Those costs were boosted by the launch of a national sales tax in 2017 and the economic impact of an earlier ban on high-value currency notes.

"There's a demand, there's a debate - all my colleagues are saying what's the need of keeping the fiscal deficit in check when there is distress in a particular sector," said Gopal Krishna Agarwal, the economic affairs spokesman for the Hindu nationalist BJP, referring to the farm sector.

"Even think-tanks associated with us are talking in this sense. Very few people domestically are talking about fiscal prudence. Only foreign think-tanks are talking fiscal prudence. I strongly believe an expansionary policy can benefit the party," he said in an interview on Tuesday night.

India's 10-year benchmark bond yield rose 4 basis points to 7.53 per cent after the news, its highest since January 8 on worries about the fiscal deficit. The rupee also weakened to 71.23 to the dollar from its previous close of 71.03.

2019 polls: BJP govt following a scorched-earth policy, says P Chidambaram

Congress has been accusing the BJP of taking hasty decisions to woo voters just ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram Tuesday accused the BJP government of following a scorched-earth policy, saying it will spend the money it does not have and will leave a huge unpaid bill for the next dispensation.

He asserted that only those who know they face defeat will follow a scorched-earth policy.

"As I had said, more panic-driven measures are in the offing, but where is the money?" the former finance minister tweeted.

"The BJP government is following a scorched-earth policy. It will spend money it does not have and it will leave a huge unpaid bill for the next government," he wrote on the microblogging site.

ALSO READ: Whither grand alliance?

The Congress has been accusing the BJP of taking hasty decisions to woo voters just ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

It had hit out at the BJP for what it called "hasty" passage of the bill for quota to economically weaker sections of general category, passed in both Houses of Parliament in the just-concluded winter session.

The BJP has hailed the move as historic and one that is pro-poor.

Business Standard