The Hindu : National : Do not compromise on excellence: CPI(M)

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 24, 2006

National

National

Do not compromise on excellence: CPI(M)

Special Correspondent

KOLKATA: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is not against reservation of seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in institutions of higher learning but wants the seats increased so that general category candidates are not denied access to education.

The Centre should handle the matter "judiciously" and ensure that there is no compromise on "excellence," West Bengal party secretary Biman Bose said here on Tuesday.

"Our party has maintained its opposition to repressive measures against the agitating students and stressed the need for a dialogue with them." Mr. Bose condemned the lathicharge on the protestersin various places.

He regretted that divisions had been created among students on the issue of reservation. It should benefit the poor and needy sections among the OBCs. There was need for a socio-economic criterion to exclude the affluent and those with access to jobs and higher education. It was imperative that the views of the All-India Medical Council be elicited on quotas in medical institutions, Mr. Bose said. The OBC list had increased over the years and this had a bearing on the sensitivities of a section of students, which felt aggrieved at the Centre's proposals on reservation.

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