Heena Sharma Blog

A plea challenging the bill to provide 10 per cent reservation to general category poor in jobs and education was Thursday filed in the Supreme Court. The petition, filed by Youth For Equality organisation and Kaushal Kant Mishra, sought the quashing of the bill saying that the economic criterion cannot be the sole basis for reservation. The plea said the bill violates basic feature of the Constitution as reservation on economic grounds cannot be limited to the general categories and the 50 per cent ceiling limit cannot be breached. The Rajya Sabha passed it with 165 voting in its favour and 7 against on Wednesday, a day after the Lok Sabha had approved The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Bill was approved after the House rejected five amendments moved by Opposition members. Read More Business Standard

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday defended the introduction of the 10 per cent quota for the general category poor in jobs and education, even as he asked the Congress to clarify what was driving its ongoing allegations on the Rafale fighter jet deal . Addressing a public rally after launching a slew of infra projects here, Modi said the smooth passage of the bill which provides 10 per cent quota for the general category poor in jobs and education in the Lok Sabha is a strong answer by the Parliament to those spreading lies. Hoping the Rajya Sabha will pass the Bill Wednesday, Modi said the rights of deprived sections, including Dalits and tribals won't be affected because of this bill. He termed the passage of the bill in the Lok Sabha as a historic step aimed at uplifting the deprived sections. On the passage of the Citizenship Bill , seeking to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangaldesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Modi assured people of Assam and