Jaipur. Congress demanded simplification of EWS from the Prime Minister. Senior Congress leader and former chairman of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation Dharmendra Rathore has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that if this demand is not taken seriously then the youth can resort to agitation. Rathore has submitted a memorandum demanding simplification of the complex conditions of EWS reservation in various services of the central government on the lines of Rajasthan model. In the memorandum, Rathore also focused on 671 OBC castes of the state including Jat, Bishnoi of the farmer class, which come under General and EWS category at the center level, but the very low female representation in them is worrying for the nation of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.
Rathore said that the central government had laid a new foundation of social justice by making a provision of 10 percent reservation for EWS on January 12, 2019. Many state governments have adopted it, but the inconsistencies in EWS are depriving the farming community and women in particular from getting full benefits. This reservation is proving to be hollow due to rigid provisions. For example, the number of EWS applicants in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is 2.5 to 3.5 times less than SC/ST, while in the major recruitments of SSC, this ratio has been recorded to be 4 to 4.4 times less. This shows that the conditions of the Center for issuing EWS certificates are not practical.
In contrast, the Rajasthan government provided relief by simplifying the EWS reservation on 20 October 2019, resulting in a revolution in state-level recruitments in the last six years. All castes including Rajputs, Brahmins, Vaishyas of the general category are now turning to government jobs, leading to social revival. This wave has proved to be revolutionary in educationally backward areas like Jaisalmer, Barmer. Rajasthan has an annual income limit of only Rs 8 lakh, while in the Center, conditions related to land and plot have been added with income, which are meaningless. There are no such conditions in any other reservation system, so why in EWS?
Rathore demanded that the central government should make EWS reservation effective by adopting the Rajasthan model, so that farmers and women can get justice. He warned that if the demands are not met, the EWS movement will become more vocal.
👇 *Difference in EWS reservation provisions in the Center and Rajasthan*👇
*EWS reservation provisions in the central government*:
The family’s income should not exceed Rs 8 lakh.
The family should not have more than 5 acres of agricultural land.
There should not be a residential flat of 1000 square feet or more.
There should not be a residential plot of 100 square yards or more in the municipal area.
There should not be a residential plot of 200 square yards or more in rural areas outside the municipal area.
*EWS reservation provision in Rajasthan government*:
The family income should not exceed Rs 8 lakh.
Mention of land and plot makes it difficult to issue EWS certificate at the center. Officials are unable to check the beneficiary’s property in other cities or districts, due to which lakhs of eligible people are deprived of the benefits. In Rajasthan, the process is simple and effective due to the condition of income only. In these 6 years, due to EWS reservation, there has been a radical change in the standard of living of lakhs of families and many castes.
This memorandum will start a stir in the EWS reservation which has been lying quiet in the country, because Dharmendra Rathore is called “the walking Mandal Commission of the EWS class” by the Kshatriya community and the eligible communities of EWS, and due to Rathore’s efforts, Gehlot simplified the EWS, which became an example in the whole country. Therefore, after this memorandum, it is being speculated that Rathore can make a strategy to agitate to put pressure on the Center to provide benefits to the deprived castes.
