Senior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi's call to end caste-based reservation should be supported by all political parties. His suggestion for reservations based on economic criteria has drawn flak from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, among others.
The Congress is afraid of the benefits being passed on to forward communities, even if the case for reservation for people groaning under poverty, irrespective of their caste and community, is genuine. BR Ambedkar had opposed caste quotas but agreed when it was decided that reservations would be reviewed after 10 years.
Even after 67 years of independence, if the reservation policy based on caste continues, it is to strengthen the vote-bank politics of the Congress and caste-based parties. The reservation policy is reverse discrimination. The forward communities' tag attached to others is a constant roadblock for these groups. People from the so-called forward communities often lose out in promotions and admission to educational institutions.