The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict, upholding 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes in Centrally-run institutions of higher education and said it was a victory for the downtrodden sections of the society.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar, in his initial reaction to the judgment, said reservation was very much required but the attitude of Human Resource Minister Arjun Singh had created problems in implementing the reservation laws.

Had he been little considerate towards the concerns of those opposing it, the implementation could have taken place without controversies or friction, he said, reminding that all political parties, including the BJP, had supported the bill in Parliament.

Javadekar did not agree with the suggestion that political parties were indulging in competitive populism and said reservation for the poor and downtrodden sections was natural justice and that any growth has to be inclusive.

Nobody could exclude a major section like OBC, which deserves attention, he said, adding that the BJP had always stood by the spirit of social justice.