Zero-sum game

THE Union government’s move to provide 10 per cent reservation for the “economically weaker sections” not only evoked widespread support across party lines but also gave rise to a similar strain of interpretation. The opposition was of the view that the Prime Minister and his associates in the National Democratic Alliance had embarked on an ill-thought-out, ad hoc operation just like demonetisation, although the concept of reservation for the “economically weaker sections” was a welcome one. The 10 per cent reservation for the “economically weaker sections”, these BJP sources argue, has been a long-standing demand of upper caste organisations. Although 10 per cent reservation for “economically weaker sections” has been accorded some sort of constitutional sanction through the Constitution Bill, 2019, that sought to amend Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, several experts are of the view that the proposal may not be implementable.