10K SEATS LOST IN 3YRS

AIADMK, MDMK too move HC for OBC quota in med courses

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:

Following the DMK’s petition in the Madras high court questioning the Centre’s denial of 50% quota for OBC students in All-India quota seats for admission to medical courses, the ruling AIADMK and MDMK too have moved the high court.

Tamil Nadu law minister C Ve Shanmugam has moved the plea on behalf of the AIADMK. MDMK founder Vaiko has also moved a similar petition on behalf of his party challenging the decision of the Centre in not providing the reservation.

According to the AIADMK, even under the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act, 2006, OBCs must be provided 27% reservation. But even this has been denied in the admissions to medical courses, it said. “Under All India Quota, 8,137 postgraduate medical seats were available in 2019. If the 27% reservation rule is applied, OBCs should have got 2,197 seats but only 224 seats were allotted in non-central institutions,” the petition said.

“The Centre is following neither its own Act which mandates 27% OBC reservation, nor that of the state to provide 50% reservation. This has resulted in OBCs being robbed of 10,000 seats in the past three years and many more during the preceding years,” the petition said.

Claiming that it was the party’s founder and former chief minister MGR who increased the reservation for OBCs from 31% to 50% in Tamil Nadu, and that former chief minister J Jayalalithaa was instrumental in enacting the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation  of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993, the petitioner wanted the court to direct the Centre to provide 50% reservation for OBCs in All India Quota for the academic year 2020-21.

The parties have moved HC since the Supreme Court refused hearing pleas moved by them. It had, however, granted liberty to approach the HC.