NEW DELHI: The all party meeting Monday night failed to reach a consensus on the 27 per cent job reservation for Backward Classes and the proposed five to ten per cent quota for economically weaker sections.
The meeting was called to discuss the various aspects of the controversial government policy on job quota for the ordinary backward classes. Prime Minister V P Singh had on August 7 announced the implementation of the Mandal commission report which recommended 27.5 percent job reservation for the backward classes on caste basis in addition to the 22 per cent quota for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
The five hour meeting ended in disagreement with the government refusing to dilute its decision on 27 per cent reservation.
The opposition Congress I and the government’s allies the BJP and the CPIM strongly differed with the decision, stressing the need for introduction of economic criterion.
The parliamentary affairs minister, Upendra, told newsmen after the meeting that the decision regarding 27 per cent “is not open”.
The Congress I president, Rajiv Gandhi, emphatically said that there was no consensus on any point.
The meeting agreed on the basic issue of reservation socially and economically backward classes and that there should be a review of the reservations every 10 years.
The leaders also agreed that government should take necessary opportunities.
The meeting also appealed to teh youth and students community to eschew violence expressing deep sorrow over the loss of life and public property in recent agitation.
The right wing party BJP president, L.K. Advani, told newsmen that a most parties at the meeting supported Mandal commission recommendations. Barring the Janata Dal and the CPI, all other major parties felt reservation on caste basis alone would only perpetuate the “vice of casteism”, he said.
The prime minister, VP. Singh, told newsmen’s that on certain areas there was agreement while on certain others there was none.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 14, 1990
