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Congress cites CWC resolution on creamy layer

Special Correspondent

Court verdict a victory: Moily

Parries questions on review petition
“We have to work within the coalition arrangement”

NEW DELHI: While officially the Congress has refused to comment on the exclusion of creamy layer from reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), party leaders on Saturday harked back to a Working Committee resolution that favoured keeping this segment out of the ambit of quota.

Addressing a specially convened press conference, Veerappa Moily, chairman of the party’s media department, parried repeated questions on whether the Congress was in favour of filing a review petition against the Supreme Court ruling to exclude creamy layer from OBC reservation in Central higher educational institutions. “That is a decision to be taken by the United Progressive Alliance,” was his refrain.

However, party leaders sought to point out that the Congress Working Committee under Rajiv Gandhi had passed a resolution calling for exclusion of the creamy layer. They also drew attention to the fact that the Narasimha Rao government did not file a review petition against the Indra Sawhney judgment as per which the creamy layer was introduced for OBC reservation in jobs.

Compulsions

However, they conceded that this time round it would have to factor in coalition compulsions. “Whatever be our position, we have to work within the coalition arrangement.”

This was the position taken by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry while preparing for the introduction of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Bill, 2006. The Ministry did not take a view on the creamy layer and left it for the Cabinet in view of the known stance of some of the UPA constituents.

Stopped short

Similarly, the Oversight Committee — set up under the chairmanship of Mr. Moily to chart the road-map for introduction of OBC reservation in Central higher educational institutions — while hinting at the need to keep the creamy layer out, stopped short of making a clear-cut recommendation. Instead, it left it to the Government, a point made by Mr. Moily on Saturday at the party briefing.

The Congress, according to Mr. Moily, is happy that “at the broader level, the policy of ensuring affirmative action for the deprived sections through the medium of 27 per cent quota in Central universities, Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management has been upheld by the Court.”

Capacity-building

Describing the Supreme Court verdict upholding the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, as a victory, Mr. Moily said it not only took forward the party’s commitment to social inclusiveness but had also paved the way for capacity building in higher education.

Drawing attention to the fact that the OBC reservation was not being implemented at the cost of general category seats, he said everyone stood to benefit from this legislation.

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