(TV18 quoted Indra Sawhney, who blocked Narasimha Rao government’s quota move, as saying, “This bill will be challenged in court. Let me think it over if I want to file a petition challenging this constitutional amendment. But this bill will take the ceiling to 60% and deserving candidates in the open category will be left out. Hence, the amendment will be struck down.”)

Delighted the Rajya Sabha has passed The Constitution (One Hundred And Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019. Glad… https://t.co/T3J8YsqY3N — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1547053434000

Passage of The Constitution (One Hundred And Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019 in both Houses of Parliament is a… https://t.co/ifPF0Dwvmw — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1547053511000

By passing The Constitution (One Hundred And Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019, we pay tributes to the makers of… https://t.co/xTm5fVpbvh — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1547053549000

NEW DELHI: The Modi government’s bid to provide 10% quota for the economically weak crossed an important hurdle on Wednesday with the Rajya Sabha approving the bill with a margin of 165-7, a day after the Lok Sabha had cleared the legislation 323-3. With the parliamentary process complete, the law can now be notified by the President.There were no surprises as the Upper House voted on the 124th constitutional amendment bill at 10.20pm after close to 10 hours of debate in which more than 40 members participated. Barring the opposition of DMK and IUML, other political parties supported the bill even as the opposition accused the government of acting with an eye on the elections and raised questions over its constitutional validity.The amendments moved by DMK and a few other parties were rejected by an overwhelming majority. The debate, which saw opposition leaders asking questions over how the guidelines for inclusion will be framed, ended with social justice and empowerment minister Thawarchand Gehlot saying that the bill had been brought to Parliament by PM Narendra Modi with “acche irade, acchi neeyat (good intentions, good motives)”.D Raja of CPI and two AAP MPs, Sanjay Singh and Sushil Gupta, walked out before voting. AIADMK walked out in the morning and its MPs were not present at the time of voting. DMK MP Kanimozhi’s amendment seeking the bill’s referral to a select committee was supported by CPI and TDP. The amendment was rejected 155-18.The passing of the constitutional amendment by the Rajya Sabha marks a remarkably swift conclusion to the parliamentary process with the bill being cleared by the Cabinet just two days ago. Billed by the government as a move to help the less well-off among the sections ineligible for reservation, the legislation seeks to break new ground by amending the Constitution to provide for quotas on the basis of economic deprivation apart from the criteria of social and educational backwardness.Countering the opposition’s charge that there were inadequate employment opportunities, law minister Prasad cited avenues created as a result of Digital India, road construction projects and housing projects under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana.The quota for those who are not members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the backward classes is also a first in that it covers all religious denominations such as Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis. Among Hindu communities, it covers castes such as Jats, Marathas and Gujjars, seen as “intermediate castes” as also forwards like Brahmins, Rajputs and Banias.Modi welcomed the bill’s passage by tweeting, “By passing the Constitution (One Hundred And Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019, we pay tributes to the makers of our Constitution and the great freedom fighters, who envisioned an India that is strong and inclusive.” BJP leaders said the quota will offer succour to the economically weak among the upper castes and assuage a sense of discrimination over reservation and competitive demands for inclusion.Apart from political exigencies such as recent electoral setbacks, particularly in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the new quota is intended to accommodate demands by Jats, Marathas, Gujjars and Kapus for reservation. These relatively well-off communities have demanded reservations either as a separate category or as part of the OBCs.Such demands have repeatedly hit legal hurdles in view of the Supreme Court ruling that caste-based quotas will not exceed the ceiling of 50%. As things stand, the 22.5% quota for Dalits and tribals and the 27% quota for OBCs adds up to 49.5%. Similar efforts to carve out quotas for Muslims have been rejected by the courts on the grounds that there is no constitutional provision for reservation on the basis of religion. This will change as far as the “forward quota” is concerned if it passes the legal test.The law will almost certainly face a searching scrutiny of the SC where the validity of the constitutional amendment providing for economic means as a ground for reservation will be tested. The law is also likely to be challenged on the ground that it is violative of the “basic structure” of the Constitution. The key issue will be whether the new ground for reservation and arguments in its justification can permit a breach of the 50% ceiling.Replying at the end of the debate, Gehlot asked Congress how it would have implemented the promise it made in its election manifesto of giving reservation to poor in the general category but by amending the Constitution.“The amendment is the only way and I feel that the change being made in the Constitution will stand the scrutiny of the Supreme Court,” he said.