Centre denying OBCs thousands of medical college seats: DMK tells SC ‘Reservation Denied Under AIQ Scheme’

Centre denying OBCs thousands of medical college seats: DMK tells SC

‘Reservation Denied Under AIQ Scheme’

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

22.10.2021

The DMK accused the Centre of depriving OBC candidates thousands of seats in medical colleges by not providing them reservation in All India Quota (AIQ) over the years during which SCs/STs candidates availed the benefits. It urged the Supreme Court to dismiss plea filed against granting reservation to OBC.

The AIQ scheme was introduced in 1986 under the direction of the apex court to provide domicile-free merit based opportunities to students from any state to get admission in a good medical college located in another state. AIQ at present consists of 15% of total available under graduate seats and 50% of total available post graduate seats in government medical colleges. Initially there was no reservation in AIQ up to 2007 when 15% reservation for SCs and 7.5% for STs were introduced. Reservation for OBCs was not given and the governemnt has now decided to provide a 27% quota on the direction of Madras high court which passed the order on a plea of DMK. Reservation for EWS has also been notified in AIQ.

In a written submission filed in the apex court in the ongoing legal battle for OBC/ EWS reservation in AIQ, the political party said, "The OBC candidates have been deprived of thousands of seats by the Union of India in the previous years. Vide the impugned notice the Union has set right the anomaly for OBCs after a period of 13 years. The granting of impugned reservations of 27% for OBC’s in the SCS-AIQ ( All India Quota seats State contributed Seats) would benefit around 4,000 students this year and would cause a positive domino effect on the society at large".

"It was only after initiating contempt petition before the High Court by DMK, Union Government conceded to the legal fight initiated by DMK, and issued the notice declaring that 27% reservation to OBC in all state contributed seats to All India Quota. The Union in the counter affidavit filed before the Madras high court termed that granting of reservation as a policy decision even though it is only complying with the orders of high court," it said.

The party said that granting reservation is to bring the deprived section to the mainstream and to bring equality. "It is submitted that social justice is a facet of equality which is a fundamental right and policy of reservations is to setoff inequality, bridge the gap between equals and un-equals, remove manifest imbalance for those lagging behind, and remedy the past historical discrimination and injustice done to a social class of people. It is an affirmative action and positive declaration," it said.

Opposing the plea for quashing of Centre's notification, the party said that it is not sucking off seats as described by the petitioners.