Congress leader Digvijaya Singh called for the Centre to follow the lead of several states by relaxing the age and income criteria for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to broaden the pool of eligible beneficiaries for reservation, during his address in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Singh also demanded that the central government follow the steps taken by states like Gujarat and Rajasthan and provide relaxation to the EWS belonging to the forward castes.

The Narendra Modi government had in 2019 brought a constitutional amendment bill to introduce 10 per cent reservation for the EWS among the forward castes. Most parties, including the Congress, supported it. But the DMK, a Congress ally, did not back it on the ground that reservation based on economic criteria was against the spirit of the Constitution. The Tamil Nadu government has not implemented the EWS reservation so far.

Singh’s demand has confused the leaders of socially deprived groups about the Congress’s commitment to social justice.

During Zero Hour, Singh said the average number of candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) applying per post, advertised by the Union Public Service Commission, was higher than that of the EWS category. “There are many conditions curtailing the opportunity for interested candidates among the EWS category to apply for the vacant posts,” he said.

In the recruitment exams, SCs and STs get relaxation in age and qualification.
Singh said Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir had already given a five-year relaxation eligibility in government jobs in those states. “The central government should provide such relaxation,” he said.

G. Karunanidhy, secretary of the All India Other Backward Classes Employees Federation, said the demand made by Singh was against social justice.

“Our stand is that the EWS reservation is unconstitutional. Before being amended in 2019, the Constitution mandated that social deprivation was the necessary condition for affirmative actions like reservation. We hold that view. But senior Congress leaders such as Digvijaya Singh demanding relaxation in age and other criteria for the EWS is a miserable attempt by the Congress to reach out to the forward castes. They will not succeed,” Karunanidhy said.

Justice Vangala Eswaraiah, former acting Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, said the EWS people were the cream of the society. They have never faced any systemic discrimination like the SCs, STs and the OBCs, he said. “There is no rationale to demand relaxation in age and other criteria for the EWS category. The demand has been raised by other sections as well. It shows the manifestation of opportunism,” he said.