GoM meet divided over EOC

Doubts over whether an Equal Opportunities Commission would interfere with existing commissions and create jurisdictional...

Doubts over whether an Equal Opportunities Commission EOC would interfere with existing commissions and create jurisdictional hurdles were raised on Thursday at a Group of Ministers GoM meeting even as the Ministry of Minority Affairs,which is strongly advocating the setting up of such a commission,argued hard to clear misconceptions and bring members on board over the issue.

At the meeting that ended inconclusively,Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and other members like HRD Minister Kapil Sibal were understood to have asked whether there would be overlapping of functions between the EOC and other commissions. The GoM,headed by Defence Minister A K Antony,also faced another tricky problem whether the EOC should be located in the Minority Affairs Ministry or the Social Justice Ministry.

Making a strong pitch,the Minority Affairs Ministry headed by Union Minister of State independent charge Salman Khurshid made a detailed presentation in which it sought to dispel the concerns voiced by GoM members. Differentiating between the EOC and other commissions,it said the former would cover all deprived classes while the latter addressed needs of targeted social groups. It also made a distinction between ensuring equality,which other commissions did,and equal opportunities that the EOC would be tasked with providing.

No existing commission is ostensibly carrying out the function of ensuring equal opportunity and a uniform approach,and remedy based on scientific application would be available to all the deprived groups through EOC, said a Ministry note. It further argued that the task of ensuring equal opportunity could not be handed to any of the existing commissions as doing so would result in conflict.

Setting up of an EOC has been committed by the Congress in its election manifesto which says: The implementation of the recommendations of the Sachar Committee is already underway and an Equal Opportunity Commission will be established by law.