Arjun meets Kalam on reservation issue

       New Delhi: Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh met President A P J Abdul Kalam here on Thursday over reservation of the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in the higher educational institutes in the country. However, no official words were available on the meeting, Singh is understood to have discussed the reservation related issues, which has been facing students' protests across the country. In the latest move, the government plans to reserve 27 per cent seats in all central universities over an above the existing quota, taking the total reservation to almost 50 percent, which means lesser number of seats for meritorious students from the general category. Arjun Singh's recent statement on this score has once again revived the Mandal issue after 16 years. Now, the reservation quota would be increased from 22.5 percent to 49.5 percent. Centre is likely to introduce a bill in Parliament in this regard during its coming session beginning May 10.

Arjun meets EC over reservation

      New Delhi: Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh today met the three-member Election Commission on the row surrounding reservations for the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in higher education institutions in the country. Singh, who has been projecting himself as a crusader for the cause of reservation, met Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon and Election Commissioners Navin Chawla and N. Gopalaswami. "He (Singh) wanted a personal hearing which was granted", EC sources said without elaborating. The meeting came after Singh called on President A P J Abdul Kalam and apprised him of his views on the reservation issue, which has generated student protests across the country. Singh met the Commission almost a month after the latter had observed that Singh had allegedly violated the moral code of conduct pertaining to the ongoing assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory. Singh had earlier denied the EC's charge that he had announced plans for quota in the Central universities and other higher education institutions. The Commission has already asked the Centre to defer consideration of the controversial draft Bill by the Union Cabinet on the issue till the completion of the assembly polls.

Orissa students protest over OBC quota

      Bhubaneshwar: With the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation issue heating up across the country, medical students of Orissa gathered in Bhubaneshwar to oppose the government's proposed plan regarding reservations today. Students insisted that they were not against the existing quota for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. But said the new quota for OBC would be detrimental to the interests of talented students belonging to general category. "This protest is against the 27 percent reservation that has been done for the OBC. We want to be selected on merit and not because we belong to the OBC. Having an OBC stamp on me means I am less concerned about my studies. Then how will I compete with general students? We have no objections to the present quotas, only with the new ones being imposed. What is the government doing? If the OBC can't get in through merit, how will they treat patients later?" said Surya R Das, the President of the VSS Medical College. "A day will come when we will have only 10 or 20 percent for general category. We want merit to decide who is to be selected and who is not," said LN Mohanty, student of VSS Medical College. "The problem lies in the future. Education should be based on merit and not reservation. A merit base will ensure that good students get a chance. Reservation will only divide students and start a wrong system. We will oppose this new proposal to the very end. The government can do whatever it wants. But then it will be responsible for whatever happens in future," said Dhananjay Mohanty, Secretary MKCG medical College. The students of VSS Medical College Burla, MKCG Medical College Behrampur, SCB Medical College Cuttack, participated in the protest rally that culminated at the Governor House Chowk. After setting fire to the effigy of Arjun Singh, they presented their memorandum to the Governor.

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