BSP chief seeks quota for poor 'Manuvadis'

NEW DELHI: In keeping with her efforts to widen her social base, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Friday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take steps to amend the Constitution for earmarking a separate quota for the poor among the upper castes.

The BSP leader, who met the prime minister here on Friday morning, made out a strong case for extending the benefits of reservation to the poorer sections among upper castes — a theme which has come to occupy the centrestage in her political project. ``In the absence of basic amenities, these sections live in abysmal conditions. There should be a separate quota for them. If the need arises, the Centre should amend the Constitution to reserve seats for them in government jobs and educational institutions,’’ she told newspersons later in the day.

Buoyed by the success of her socio-political experiment in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP leader, it is clear, wants to replicate the model in the other states. While keeping her core constituency, comprising mainly Dalits, in good humour, she has of late gone all out to woo the upper castes and minorities. In keeping with this endeavour, she has been making an aggressive pitch for extending the ambit of reservations to the poorer sections among the upper castes.

In pursuit of this objective, the UP chief minister, during her interaction with the prime minister this morning, demanded a package of Rs 23,800 crore for the development of SC/STs, religious minorities and the upper caste poor. ``I asked the prime minister to take strong measures for filling up the seats earmarked for SCs, STs and OBCs all across the country,’’ she said, adding that she had also sought to impress upon Mr Singh the need to bring the private sector within the ambit of reservations.

``While extending the reservation scheme to the private sector, the poor among the upper castes too should be kept within the frame,’’ Ms Mayawati added. The UP chief minister, who was accompanied by her trusted lieutenant Satish Chandra Mishra and cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh during her discussions with the prime minister Manmohan Singh, also wanted the Centre to bring all the provisions on reservations under the Ninth Schedule to prevent the judiciary from pronouncing judgements affecting these clauses.