The Congress party had mooted quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in its 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto, recalled All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Fielding queries during a press conference held on the sidelines of the Congress party’s divisional-level conference in Mysuru on Saturday, Mr. Surjewala said the party stood by the concept of reservation to the EWS without touching the reservation provided to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
He said people from castes such as Lingayat, Vokkaliga or Brahmin, who had been economically deprived for generations, should be provided reservation without touching the reservations for SC/ST and OBCs that is extended to correct historical wrongs.
However, Mr Surjewala said the job of bringing the EWS quota within the Constitutional framework was left to the present government at the Centre. “The day Rahul Gandhi becomes the Prime Minister, I can assure you that we will bring it within the Constitutional framework”, he added.
