All or none

In response to your editorial Base quotas primarily on economic criteria (Feb. 22), it is logical to make economic status, and not the caste of a person, the criteria for quota reservations, but the politicians are dead against it. It is common knowledge that quotas have become tools of vote-bank politics and no party can afford to come forward in support of economic criteria for reservations, leave alone calling for quotas to be scrapped. This has dangerous consequences, like the one of death and destruction of public property in Haryana. In this scenario, Gujarat’s Hardik Patel seems to be the most reasonable voice when he says that quotas should either be for all or for none.

M.C. Joshi

Lucknow