The Hindu : National : Fears over misuse of quota Bill

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Thursday, Dec 22, 2005

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National

Fears over misuse of quota Bill

Special Correspondent

All-round support in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: The Constitution Amendment (104th) Bill to reserve seats for socially and educationally backward classes, besides the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, in private unaided educational institutions drew all-round support in the Lok Sabha despite apprehension over the exclusion of minority institutions.

Opening the marathon discussion, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ananth Kumar said the Bill would give "unbridled" freedom to minority institutions to mint money in the name of education. The Government's idea of social justice was "lop-sided." He wanted to know what would happen to the reservation currently provided in minority institutions.

Praise for Sonia

Heaping praise on Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the amendment, Chinta Mohan (Congress) urged the Government to go in for a massive recruitment drive to ensure that the SCs/STs and the backward classes got jobs. He also advocated reservation in the judiciary and the private sector.

Reservation in the private sector was also demanded by A. Krishnaswamy (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam).

Suresh Kurup (Communist Party of India-Marxist) said national policies should be applicable to minority institutions too. He pointed out that Article 30 (1) was incorporated as a guarantee to minorities that their rights would be protected. When the BJP members applauded him for echoing their sentiment, he said, "There is nothing for you to clap; our position is different from yours."

"Raises many questions"

Welcoming the Bill, despite being of the view that it raised more questions than providing answers, he said the Government should show the political will to rein in minority educational institutions that were indulging in the commercialisation of education.

Mohan Singh (Samajwadi Party) and Rajesh Verma (Bahujan Samaj Party) were one in stating that reservation alone would not uplift the downtrodden. According to them, reservation in unaided educational institutions would not be effective unless scholarships were provided. Devendra Prasad Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal) stuck to his demand for including "other backward classes" in the main body of the amendment as the term "socially and educationally backward classes" would be subject to interpretation.

Though he supported the amendment, Shiv Sena's Ananthrao Gudhe questioned the rationale in excluding minority-run institutions from it. He said fee subsidies should be made available to the socially disadvantaged sections to make the reservation effective.

Politically motivated: BJD

Terming the Bill "political motivated," Prasanna Acharia (Biju Janata Dal) opposed it. He charged that it was being brought to circumvent the decision of the Supreme Court. "Why are you discriminating minorities? It is a conspiracy to divide society," he said.

C.K. Chandappan (CPI) extended support to the Bill but said certain apprehensions remained with regard to institutions run by the minorities, especially in Kerala. Legislation was required to decide on the admission and the fee structure.

Dharmendra Pradhan (BJP) said he disagreed with the provision to exclude minority institutions. Everyone should have equal access to education, he said.

Quota for minorities

Ramadas Athawale (RPI) said there was a need for a quota for minorities while Asadduddin Owaisi (AIMIM) defended the move of the Government to keep minority-run institutions out of the purview of the Bill. He said Article 30 (1) was agreed to by Sardar Patel but those who professed to follow his legacy were trying to turn it around.

Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal sought to know how the Government would address the problem in some States where a majority of institutions were run by minorities.

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