BJP backs Govt on OBC quota but says do homework before going to SC

The BJP has given Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a clear indication that it is backing the Centre on implementing the OBC quota this year and seeking vacation of the Supreme Court stay on the OBC quota law.

The BJP has given Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a clear indication that it is backing the Centre on implementing the OBC quota this year and seeking vacation of the Supreme Court stay on the OBC quota law. However, it has indicated such a step should be taken after the government arms itself with additional details on how the reservation would be implemented and answer the points raised by the court.

Top BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, secretary of the BJP parliamentary board, and Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Deputy Leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, met the Prime Minister on Monday to express support but were emphatic that reservation should be implemented only after capacities had been built to accommodate 27 per cent OBC reservation. HRD Minister Arjun Singh and Law Minister

H R Bhardwaj were also present at the meeting.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of having the step ratified through a resolution adopted at a joint session of Parliament.

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The BJP’s backing is a major boost to the government, which is under pressure from allies like the RJD, DMK, LJP, besides the Left parties.

The so-called “in-principle” support to the government’s initiative is significant on another count. Against the backdrop of the Uttar Pradesh polls and keen to consolidate the Hindu vote, the BJP had a tepid response to the Supreme Court stay on the OBC quota law. While not opposing quotas, it had accused the government of not doing its homework. The BJP has traditionally been in favour of merit, with economic criteria as the basis of reservation but has not opposed the current law on caste-based reservations.

On Monday evening, even as the government was trying to identify the steps to be taken, there appeared to be two views on the issue: one, that had the backing of allies, suggested a forceful approach while the other, articulated by Law Minister Bhardwaj and Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, warned against any step that would be seen as a confrontation with the judiciary.