The Hindu : Front Page : Mixed response to exclusion of creamy layer

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Friday, Apr 11, 2008
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Mixed response to exclusion of creamy layer

New Delhi Bureau

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court order on reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in central educational institutions drew appreciation from across the political spectrum on Thursday. However, the decision to exclude the creamy layer within the OBCs from the ambit of reservation found a mixed response.

Hailing the judgment as “landmark,” the Congress said the verdict was significant as it upheld the “most remarkable and laudable initiative of the government and the party.”

On the exclusion of creamy layer, Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said the party would consult its allies to come out with a “structured response.”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) welcomed the order, saying that it had been consistently advocating 27 per cent reservation for the OBCs and excluding the affluent sections so that the really deserving got the benefits of reservation.

In a statement, the Polit Bureau said the Union government should take immediate steps to implement this quota from the coming academic year.

The Communist Party of India was of the view that since the Court conceded caste as the basis for social and educational backwardness, the criteria of creamy layer in the matter of jobs should not be applied to education.

Further, it said, the government must now pursue the issue of implementing the reservation policy in private and other minority institutions.

The Lok Jan Shakti Party and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) — two constituents of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) — were disappointed with the exclusion of the creamy layer.

Union Health Minister and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss told journalists that like-minded parties in the UPA and the Cabinet would discuss the possibility of filing a review petition against the exclusion of creamy layer.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally the Janata Dal (United) welcomed the verdict but differed on the decision to keep minority institutions out of the purview of OBC reservation. The BJP also reserved comments on the exclusion of creamy layer, though it had favoured keeping it out.

“We will study the judgment and also see what the government’s response is before coming out with our own response,” BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The JD (U), however, expressed unhappiness on this score. Its spokesperson Shambhu Srivastava pointed out that the backward castes’ share in central government employment was a mere 5.21 per cent. “In this context, no purpose would be served to exclude the so-called ‘creamy layer’ from job or admission quotas.”

‘Unfair’

On the Supreme Court approving the government decision to keep minority institutions out of the quota purview, the BJP said it would be unfair to a large number of backward castes within minority communities.

The JD (U) preferred to remain silent on this issue.

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