BJP, Congress welcome EWS order

New Delhi: The BJP and the Congress on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's landmark decision upholding a 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs and demanded quota in the private sector also.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice U U Lalit by a majority view of 3:2 on Monday upheld the validity of the 103rd Constitution amendment providing 10 per cent reservation to the EWS in admissions and government jobs.

The BJP lauded the SC verdict upholding the EWS quota, saying it is a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his "mission" to provide social justice to the country's poor.

Former Madhya Pradesh CM Uma Bharti also said that 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes can also be implemented under special circumstances in states like MP, where the OBC population is high.

The Congress has also welcomed the judgment. In an official statement, it claimed that the EWS reservation was the outcome of the process initiated by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government in 2005-06 with the appointment of the Sinho Commission that submitted its report in July 2010.