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Journalism of Courage
Amid growing pro-tests from both sides, the Government today hinted at raising the number of seats in premier educational institutions to accommodate the new 27% OBC quota.
While Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee made it clear that there was no going back on reservations, he said the Government would come out with a proposal that would satisfy all sides. While there was no word on when the draft Bill would be introduced, sources said the attempt is to come up with a formulation under which seats in these institutions would be “gradually increased” so that students in the “general merit list” do not feel short-changed.
Incidentally, in Goa recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said that the number of seats, from ITIs to IITs, had to be raised alongwith an upgrade in infrastructure to increase access to higher education.
“The Constitution has been amended to provide reservation to the OBCs. We will ensure a mechanism in which it will be possible to ensure the interest of all sections of society,’’ Mukherjee said after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.
“Full details are being worked out and will be shortly announced,’’ he said after the 90-minute CCPA meeting. He said that the new ‘‘arrangement will be satisfying’’ for all but declined to give a time frame within which it would be announced.
While he denied that a formal Group of Ministers would be involved, sources said the issue has been referred to a Committee of Secretaries to work out its modalities. Mukherjee said that the Government hoped that there would be no further agitation. ‘‘We have no intention to cause any harm to anybody.”
