Government to IIM- go ahead with quota in PG courses

NI Wire

New Delhi

Sat, 12 Apr 2008: 

Despite the vague and confusing picture over implementation of the 27 percent OBC quota (excluding creamy layer) to the postgraduate courses the government has asked IIM to implement the OBC quota from the forthcoming session ignoring what Supreme Court has said.

The Supre Court in its remarkable verdict over implementation of the 27 percent OBC quota in Institutions of higher education like IITs and IIMs and other Central educational institutions, while upheld the Central Educational Institution (Reservation in Admission) Act, 1936 said that since graduates could not be treated as educationally backward so they did not deserve a right contender to avail the quota benefit in postgraduate courses.

On the contrary, HRD Minister Arjun Singh on Friday while directing IIMs to implement quota in Postgraduate courses too, said, “there is no confusion.” Even he differed in views over this issue with his own cabinet colleagues. Some cabinet ministers are of the view that the decision of implementation of OBC quota in Postgraduate courses could face challenge in the Apex Court.

Confusion over implementation of quota has been arisen out of contradictory verdict by the five-member bench headed by CJI Balakrishnan, an official said.

However, HRD ministry itself was not sure of the applicability of the quota in PG courses till Thursday, but a day later after the close scrutiny by the law ministry of the SC order, Arjun Singh laced with the Law Ministry approval met Prime Minster and apprised him with his interpretation over the admission-quota in postgraduate courses.

However, the government is well aware that implementation of OBC quota in admission is not so easy viewing the SC judgment to implement quota without including creamy layer among OBCs and the contradictory views among his own ministry.

While the regional parties like RJD, BSP, LJP etc are explicitly demanding reservation for the creamy layer section among OBCs, the national party like ruling Congress and Opposition BJP would have to face some discrepancies and nation wide agitation, as Youth For Equality has warned the government, if they go against the SC ruling.

Besides, the reservation on the basis of 1931 census could not be a determinative factor for identifying the OBCs, as the Supreme Court also maintained in its verdict, “reservation cannot be permanent and appear to perpetuate backwardness.”

The implementation of the OBC quota in upcoming session as the government is saying would also not be easy in both cases, if government go ahead with 1931 census, it would have to face strong agitation and secondly, if the government tries to implement through fresh census would not be easy so early too.