'The bugle announcing the elections has well & truly sounded', says Omar Abdullah while mocking Modi government's 10% quota for Economically Weaker Sections

Former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has criticized the Modi government's decision to bring a resolution to provide 10% reservation to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), terming it as a gimmick ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Taking to Twitter, the National Conference (NC) leader wrote, "Reservation for economically backward upper castes. The bugle announcing the elections has well & truly sounded."

The Opposition has come out attacking the government over their move. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav also casted his doubts over the decision, and stated that reservation was created to solve caste issues, not economic issues.

"The reservation formula was created for caste issues, it was not done to solve economic issues. The caste-based reservation is not implemented well for the tribals and the Dalits to benefit from... They should make public for whom this quota was created. We do not know on what basis the quota was raised," he added.

READ: MASSIVE: In Caste- & Religion-agnostic Reservation Policy, Modi Govt To Up Reservation Quota From 50% To 60%; Additional Quota For Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)

On Monday afternoon, in a massive development, the BJP government broke away from norm of providing reservation on the basis of caste and religion, and passed a resolution which will provide EWS 10% quota over and above the existing 50% in place for the Schedule Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC).

The amendment will be taken up in the Parliament on Tuesday, and should it be passed, the total reservation will go up from 50 to 60%. In order for the amendment to be brought up, the government will need to amend the Article 15 and 16 of constitution.  

READ: As Modi Government Moves 10 % Quota For Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Here's Who Can Avail The Reservation

Here is the main criteria for an individual to qualify for the reservation:

• The household income should be below Rs 8 lakh. Household Income to determine who qualifies as Economically Weaker Sections.