No quota cap mentioned in Constitution: Hardik Patel

Ahmedabad: Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel on Tuesday said the Indian Constitution did not limit reservation in employment and education for certain categories to 50 per cent.

"Only the Supreme Court has capped the reservation at 50 per cent through its judgment. Nowhere is it written in the Constitution that there can be no reservation beyond 50 per cent," he said at an India TV conclave here.

The Congress and the PAAS have reached an understanding on a formula for extending quota benefit to Patidars without disturbing the present 49 per cent quota for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

The BJP has been mocking it, saying the agreement amounts to "deceiving each other" because quotas cannot exceed a constitutional ceiling of 50 per cent.

The PAAS leader accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of doing nothing to extend reservation to the Patidars and alleged that it had "committed atrocities on the Patidars".

Responding to a query, Hardik Patel said his outfit had two objectives: First, to ensure reservation to the Patidar community; and second, to ensure the defeat of the BJP.

"If BJP is defeated and the Congress comes to power, it will help our agitation. We can then agitate freely for our case, and force both the state and the Centre to accept our demand for reservation."

The Patidar leader reiterated that none of the PAAS members sought tickets from the Congress to contest the polls.