Agencies
NEW DELHI, Apr 13: Congress on Saturday shifted into higher gear on quota, asking the Centre to speed up the legislation aiming to provide OBC quota in private institutions.
Party spokesman Veerappa Moily said, "Congress supports similar law for private unaided institutions."
He also disengaged the party from the view in a section of the UPA government that the OBC quota would not apply to PG courses and IIMs. He termed the interpretation as "misconception".
The assertion coincided with the renewed resolve, reported by TOI on Friday, of the HRD ministry to move for the passage of the Bill which had to be put on the back burner because of the challenge to the law that sought to introduce OBC quota in central educational institutions.
With the Supreme Court upholding the constitutional amendment, HRD ministry has dusted up the Bill pertaining to OBC reservations in private educational institutions and is eager to introduce it in Parliament without delay.
Moily’s response to a question on the extension of quota to private institutions brought out Congress’s new-found mood to go with the pro-quota momentum in the wake of SC’s verdict on Thursday.
Congress’s readiness to go along was further brought out by the way Moily made an effort to secure for Congress the political copyright for the "pioneering" law to introduce OBC reservations in educational institutions 15 years after a Congress government started the implementation of Mandal reservations in central government jobs.
It was not clear whether the enthusiasm would extend to support for the demand from allies and other "pro-social justice formations" for measures to get around the exclusion of the "creamy layer" from the ambit of quota.
While Moily did not speak on what the Centre would do about creamy layer, saying it was for the UPA coordination committee to decide.
Sources, however, said Congress was not enthused by the idea of raising the pitch for its inclusion in the quota ambit.
While the party is quiet in the face of aggressive OBC allies, sources said its position was dictated by a CWC resolution — at the time of the Mandal commission — which favoured the exclusion of creamy layer from the benefits.
Also, the fact that the party had chosen not to challenge the Indira Sawhney judgment which laid down the creamy layer concept underlines its stand.
On Saturday, pro-Mandal UPA partners kept up their pitch for measures to keep the "creamy layer" within quota purview, with LJP chief, Ram Vilas Paswan, arguing that acquiescence in SC’s "no quota for creamy layer" would defeat the very purpose of having quotas.
On the other hand, DMK has protested the "stringent parameters" for eligibility of backwards for quota benefits.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi has sought "fair and just" review of various parameters, including the income limit, in view of the sixth pay commission recommendations. He said even children of Group D employees might not be able to enjoy quota benefits under the present limit of Rs 2.5 lakh.
Moily, for his part, stressed that while the quota law would benefit OBCs, the Oversight Committee formed by the government to chart out the roadmap for the rollout of OBC quota in educational institutions had suggested an increase in seats for the general category to protect their interests.
He said the quota law also provided for an opportunity to central institutions to expand in a big way. Moily headed the Oversight Committee.
As regards the view that a minimum cutoff should be laid down for admissions in higher educational institutes, Moily, referring to the Oversight Committee report, said that the marks gap has shrunk.
"We had carried out sample studies in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and these clearly indicate that merit and reservation do not clash and OBC candidates who are now achieving a success ratio comparable to general categories."