NDA agrees to disagree on quota issue

NDA leaders today agreed to differ on the sensitive issue of reservations in the Winter session of Parliament, which begins on Wednesday.

NDA leaders today agreed to differ on the sensitive issue of reservations in the Winter session of Parliament, which begins on Wednesday. The leaders had met at the residence of former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee in the evening to chalk out a common strategy for the session.

After the meeting, BJP spokesman VK Malhotra claimed that the issue did not crop up. “We would consider the matter when it comes up before Parliament,” he said. But Malhotra did concede that “many NDA parties have different views on religion-based reservations,” adding however that “the BJP is firm on its own stand”. Malhotra was evasive when asked if other NDA partners would join the rally planned by the saffron party here on Wednesday. “We have invited them and it is for them to decide,” he said.

Those present at the meeting included BJP leaders LK Advani, Jaswant Singh, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj, JD(U) leaders George Fernandes, Sharad Yadav and Prabhunath Singh, Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi and BJD leader Brij Kishore Tripathy. There was no representation from the Akali Dal.

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Sources said JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav made it clear to his NDA partners that his party wanted Dalit Muslims and Christians clubbed with the SC category. The BJP is against any such concession to converts to Islam and Christianity. Arun Jaitley has already described any move to include Dalit Muslims and Christians in the SC list as a “constitutional charter for conversions”. The contradiction between the positions of the two parties went relatively unnoticed during the Bihar Assembly polls, which they fought as alliance partners.

Though the issue of Dalits belonging to the minority communities did come up at the meeting, there was no mention of another point on which their views differ. The BJP is in favour of introduction of economic criteria and JD(U) is strongly committed to the centrality of caste in the entire gamut of reservations. Certain other contentious issues like the exclusion of the creamy layer and reservations for the poor emanate from economic criteria.

Amidst these points of difference, there is a commonality of views on two aspects — religion-based reservations and creamy layer vis-a-vis SCs. Both parties — for different reasons — are opposed to any reservations on the basis of religion. As far as the creamy layer, neither BJP nor JD(U) is in favour of exclusion of this section.

OBC quota Bill unlikely this session

NEW DELHI: The Bill on reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in unaided institutions and several private deemed universities may not be introduced in the winter session of Parliament, according to HRD Minister Arjun Singh.

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Talking to reporters after a meeting with IIT directors here, Singh said the Bill was being prepared but he was doubtful if it would be brought in the forthcoming session.

He said the first phase of implementation of OBC reservations in IITs would begin from the 2007-08 academic year. He, however, said “in subsequent years, some IITs have expressed some problems”, referring to the three-year quota rollout plan suggested by the Moily committee.

“Some requirements will be there which we will attend to. There are certain problems in some of the IITs and they will be addressed,” the minister said. Asked how his ministry would give “fair share” to Muslims as suggested by the prime minister, he said “some initiatives have already been taken… Those initiatives will lead to fair degree of opportunities.”