The Hindu : Front Page : Only way to bridge chasm in our society, says Gowda

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Friday, Apr 11, 2008
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Only way to bridge chasm in our society, says Gowda

S. Rajendran

BANGALORE: The former Prime Minister and national president of the Janata Dal (Secular), H.D. Deve Gowda, has welcomed the Supreme Court order on reservation for the Other Backward Classes in central educational institutions.

Mr. Gowda said the JD(S) always believed that reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs and minorities in education and employment was an inherent and integral aspect of constitutional responsibilities.

“This act of positive affirmation has immensely contributed to the uplift of the poor, underprivileged and downtrodden sections of our society, though much more remains to be done. Reservation, we believe, is the only way to bridge the chasm in our society.”

He said: “In March 2007, I had urged the Union government to take a pro-active stand on the issue and get the stay vacated at the earliest to enable the OBCs gain their due place. The architect of the Constitution, B.R.Ambedkar, himself had provided for a review of the quota system every ten years, and hence the creamy layer concept, as suggested by the Supreme Court, should yield benefits for the less privileged people, who are yet to benefit from the quota system.”

Mr. Gowda said the Karnataka government (when he was the Chief Minister from 1994-96) was the first to provide and implement quota for OBCs and Muslims in 1995. The Karnataka model had not only been implemented successfully over the past decade but has not been opposed or tampered by any successive government in the State.

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