Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Increase in quota will divide nation: SC

Increase in quota will divide nation: SC

New Delhi, May 29: In a caustic remark the Supreme Court said that the proposed increase of OBC reservation would divide the great nation on the basis of caste.

A vacation bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice L S Panta ordered the Union of India to answer to three crucial questions:

1. What is the basis of the norms for fixing the OBC category?

2. What is the rational behind fixing it?

3. If the proposed reservation is implemented, what are the modalities and the basis for modalities?

The apex bench gave an eight weeks' time to file counter-affidavit on implementation of the policy.

The court said it would examine the effect of the policy's implementation and the matter has “serious political and social ramifications and has to be adjucated upon”.

In a moral observation the judges said “agitation should stop now, although we are not making it a part of the order”.

When the petitions council sought an interim stay, Justicse Pasayat said “it’s not necessary. We have put them on enough alert”.

A petition, challenging the 93rd constitutional amendment making provisions for extending reservation to socially and economically backward classes in aided and unaided educational institutions came up for hearing before the Supreme Court on Monday.

A vacation bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice L S Panta heard the petition filed by Shiv Khera.

Another writ petition, filed by a Supreme Court senior counsel Ashoka Kumar Thakur, who also argued in the Mandal case for fixing economic criteria, resulting in the creamy layer came up for hearing. The PIL seeks to quash the proposed quota law and the Constitutional amendment.

In his petition, Thakur said, “Affirmative action by the Government to remove discrimination, inequality and disparity is quite an important step in a healthy democracy. But recent developments in this context, which infringe fundamental and legal rights of the larger section of citizens, create social upheaval, anarchy, chaos and unrest leading to an adverse law and order situation, when the issue of reservation is already settled by Supreme Court, requires to be judicially reviewed in the interest of equity, justice and fair play.”

“The last caste census was done in 1931” and “all census since 1951 have break-up of population based on religion only” not caste. Referring to the Constitution which provided reservation for only SC/STs and that too for a period of 10 years commencing 1951, the petitioner contended that the SC/ST reservation of 15 and 7.5 per cent respectively “has been extended indefinitely” and now, another “new section” of the citizenry, OBC, not sanctioned by the Constitution, has been added “with a political view”.

Thakur, in his petition, has quoted Jawaharlal Nehru, saying he had opposed continuation of reservation “as a principle” in 1961. The petition refers to the Kaka Kalelkar Committee which in the 1950s had “enumerated approximately 1,200 OBC castes” and the Mandal Commission which listed some 2,200 castes as OBCs “based on social and economic criteria”.

According to the petition, the OBC list has been increased further with some 3,200 castes being included.

“Mandal Commission had fixed OBC population in India at 52% based on fictitious data. In case we add SC/ST (24.4 per cent), Muslims (13 per cent), Christians (2.4 per cent) and Sikh, upper caste population in India should be only 6 per cent which is quite ridiculous,” it stated.

Moily to head oversight committee

• Former Karnataka CM Veerappa Moily will be chairman of oversight committee to implement quota, expand intake and infrastructure

• Secretaries of Planning, Finance, Agriculture, Health, Education will be members of committee

• Separate sub-committees will look into each stream of education

• Govt to explore option of using state run hospitals for new courses, start faculty recruitment, extend retirement age to 65

• On students’ demand for review committee, Union Minister Oscar Fernandes says “govt has taken note of this demand and will get it examined”

• Planning Commission looking at major “structural changes” in education system, will work on long-term policy of bringing in talented faculty




URL: http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=128776

2 comments:

Unsettler of Catan said...

hey!
neat pic, i can almost tell that its u in the back there...
i reserve the actal comments for the debates
mo!

Anonymous said...

Future Shock

Wisdomless Politicians
Meritless Admissions

Meaningless Curriculums
Substance less Examinations

Faculty less Departments
Student less Colleges

VC less Universities
Knowledgeless Society

Developmentless Nation
Into that hell of gloomdom

My Father, let my country
go to Sleep
let my country go to Sleep.....

Poem by BR Natarajan BITS Pilani