PMK for ordinance to take backward quota forward

NEW DELHI/PATNA: Quota enthusiasts in the ruling side appears determined to force their agenda on the Manmohan Singh government. Even as the Congress appears wary of pushing the issue beyond politically-permissible limits, a scramble has broken out to claim credit for the proposed quota regime.

PMK leader S Ramadoss, who reached Patna on Monday for “mobilising support” for the backward quota, said the Centre should immediately implement 27% reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutions through an ordinance.

Mr Ramadoss, who had met with the top brass of the Congress on the issue, said he held consultations with JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, LJP supremo Ram Vilas Paswan. He told reporters that he has already spoken to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh chief ministers as well as former prime minister VP Singh.

“I am happy to report that the UPA-Left parties supported my views and the government will be implementing the policy of 27% reservation from the next academic session. An enabling legislation would also be brought in the ensuing monsoon session of Parliament,” the PMK leader said.

Mr Ramadoss, who’s persisting with his claim that OBCs constitute 60% of the total population, said the community was denied reservation in educational institutions for more than 58 years.

He said the Constitution provides for the social and educational advancement of Other Backward Classes through the provisions like Article 15 (4), Article 16, Article 38, Article 46, Article 340, first amendment to the Constitution (1951) and 93rd amendment (’05).

Mr Ramadoss said that according to Article 340, the Centre constituted the first Backward Classes Commission in 1953, which submitted its report in 1955 recommending 70% of seats in all technical and professional institutions to OBCs and job reservation.

The second Backward Classes Commission, popularly known as Mandal Commission, which submitted its report in 1980, recommended 27% reservation to the OBCs in higher educational institutions.

He said if Kaka Kalekar Commission’s recommendation had been accepted, OBCs would have received the benefit of reservation in the last 51 years, and if Mandal Commission’s recommendations had been accepted, the benefit could have come in the last 26 years.

This claim is being contested in the Supreme Court. The SC had issued a notice to the Centre asking it to explain the basis for awarding 27% additional reservation for OBCs in centrally funded educational institutions.

This judicial intervention is significant as it comes in the backdrop of findings that there’s no empirical evidence to substantiate Mandal’s OBC figure of 52%.

According to the National Sample Survey’s (NSS) ’99-00 report, only 36% of the population are OBCs and not 52% as defined by the Mandal Commission.

The NSS report had concluded that if the Muslim OBCs are excluded from this list, only 32% of the population can be defined as OBCs. The National Family Health Statistics’ (NFHS) findings is also similar to that of the NSS.

The Parliament’s Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, too, had recently said that there was no authentic estimate on the actual strength of the “backwards”.

But Ramadoss is determined to get the UPA government act on the promise made at the co-ordination panel’s meeting. “Now the UPA government, with the determination to rectify this injustice, passed in Parliament the 93rd amendment in December 2005 which was supported by every political party.”