Hike OBC quota in Central services to 50 per cent, MK Stalin urges PM Modi

CHENNAI: The DMK president M K Stalin on Friday appealed to the Prime Minister, Sri Narendra Modi to bring in an amendment to the law in the current winter session of Parliament itself to enhance the reservation for OBCs' in Central government educational institutions and services from 27 per cent to 50 per cent.

This alone would ensure social justice to the OBCs' who, since the BJP government came to power at the Centre "have been deprived" of even the existing 27 per cent quota in Central jobs and educational institutions (as recommended by the Mandal Commission), Stalin said in a statement here.

Stalin said it was shocking that neither the Union HRD minister Mr. Pokrhiyal nor the Prime Minister chose to reply to a question raised by the DMK parliamentary party leader T R Baalu on why the OBC student-candidates were not allotted the statutory percentage of seats for MBBS and MD admissions from the total number of medical seats under these categories surrendered to the 'general pool' by the State government and private medical colleges.

Adverting to some statistics, the DMK leader said while in 2017-18 out of the total of 9,966 medical seats (MBBS and MD courses) given to the 'general pool', the OBC candidates as per the Mandal Commission recommendation of 27 per cent reservation should have got 2,689 seats.  But in reality that year OBC students got only 260 seats in central government medical institutions, Stalin said.

He said during 2018-19, out of the 12,595 medical seats given to the 'general pool', the OBC students should have got 3,400 seats. But they (OBCs') got only 299, Stalin pointed out, adding, it was condemnable that during those two years, the OBCs' in all were deprived of as many as 5,530 MBBS and MD seats.

Moreover, Mr. Stalin pointed out that after the BJP came to power, reservation for OBCs', tribals and de-notified communities had not been fully complied with in Central government offices. This looked like a conscious policy of deprivation towards these socially marginal communities, Stalin said, adding, even at the Central Secretariat in New Delhi, the quota norms for these communities have not been complied with. On top of this, the 'NEET' exam has "ruined the chances" of OBC, tribals and de-notified community students getting into medical colleges. All these are a "betrayal" of the Constitutional entitlement to the OBCs', he said.

The DMK leader also appealed to the Prime Minister to place a 'White Paper' in the current session of Parliament, giving details of the number of jobs given to OBCs' in Central government offices in the last two years and the number of medical college seats they were allotted.