Raipur: The Congress on Tuesday took a dig at the Raman Singh government after an executive order reduced the schedule caste quota in Chhattisgarh from 16 to 12 per cent and increased the tribal quota from 20 to 32 per cent.
The Congress called it illegal. Party's chief ministerial candidate for state Assembly polls Ajit Jogi said, "Raman Singh should know that without putting it in the 9th schedule the stipulated 50 per cent which is the outer limit set by the Supreme Court has been deliberately exceeded.
However, Raman Singh defended himself saying, "We have just implemented a GOI order."
The repercussions for the BJP-led government are apparent as Jaitkambh is a symbol of dalit pride in Chattisgarh, led by the scheduled Satnami caste.
The Satnami community which forms around 65 per cent of the scheduled caste population in Chhattisgarh has expressed displeasure over the new reservation policy and its members have said that they will not vote for Raman Singh.
Interestingly, Ajit Jogi has a strong base among the Satnamis, who are unhappy with the new reservation policy. In the last 10 years, the BJP has eaten into the Congress's tribal votebank, which is a third of the states electorate. The new reservation policy is another push in that direction.
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