Chennai: The ruling AIADMK in Tamilnadu has moved the Madras High Court seeking 50 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in medical seats surrendered by the State governments to the All India quota in non Central government colleges.
In the affidavit, Law Minister and AIADMK Villupuram district secretary C Ve Shanmugam said party founder M G Ramachandran had raised the reservations for OBCs from 31 to 50 per cent in the State.
Subsequently, late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa adopted a resolution in the State Assembly on 30 September, 1991 demanding the Centre too, provide reservations for OBCs.
He also credited Jayalalithaa for enacting the Tamilnadu 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 of 1993. She also obtained the presidential assent and included it in the ninth schedule of the Constitution.
Noting that OBCs have been grossly under-represented for the “past several academic years” in the All India quota seats in undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma courses in medical colleges, Shanmugam said of the total 8,137 available PG seats under the All India quota in 2019, OBCs should get 27 per cent of the seats as per the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act,
2006.
Even as per this, they should have got 2,197 seats, but only 224 seats were allotted to OBCs in non Central institutions, he said and sought a direction to the Centre to reserve 50 per cent of the seats for OBCs in the All India quota for the academic year 2020-21.
It may be recalled that the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and the Opposition DMK also have filed similar PILs in the High Court and were yet to be listed for hearing.
Initially, the DMK, AIADMK, CPI and others had approached the Supreme Court with a similar plea but they withdrew the cases a few days back with liberty to move the Madras High Court.
It may be recalled that while hearing a batch of petitions seeking reservation for for OBCs in medical colleges, the Supreme Court observed that right to reservation was not a fundamental right.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao and comprising of Krishna Murari and S Ravindra Bhat categorically stated that nobody can claim their right to reservation as a fundamental right, and hence not giving quota benefits cannot be construed as a violation of so.
“We appreciate the concern of all the political parties for the welfare of backward classes. But reservation is not a fundamental right,” the bench told the lawyers appearing for various parties including the AIADMK, DMK, TN Congress Committee,
CPI and CPI(M).
All withdrew their petitions with a liberty to approach the Madras High Court following which the AIADMK moved the court Saturday.