Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, on Sunday stated that reservations in jobs should increase from 49.5 % to 75 % on economic criteria and that higher castes must also benefit from it.
Athawale, who is from the Republican Party of India and had earlier fought for quota for Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the Indian cricket team, said, “Currently there is 49.5 % reservations. We should increase it by 25 % to accommodate Patels, Rajputs, Brahmins, Baniyas and Marathas.”
The minister, who has been advocating for a separate state for Vidarbha in Maharashtra where he hails from, told the media that “these higher castes should not fall under the creamy layer or be earning Rs 8 lakh a year to get reservations. “I believe that they should get 25 % reservations by increasing quota the overall quota to 75 %.”
Athawale further said that this should not disturb the existing reservation system benefitting the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
