Medical Seats: AIADMK moves SC over implementation of OBC quota

NEW DELHI: The AIADMK has moved the Supreme Court challenging the decision of centre not granting 50 per cent reservation to OBC’s as per Tamil Nadu law in seats surrendered by the state in the All India Quota (AIQ) for under graduate as well as post graduate medical and dental courses in 2020-21. Earlier, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Tamil Nadu unit of CPI (M) have moved the top court seeking similar reliefs for students of Other Backward Class (OBC) category in admissions in medical courses.

'50% reservation for OBCs'

“There is no rational basis for not extending the benefit of 50 per cent reservation for OBCs, as envisaged under the State laws of Tamil Nadu, to the State-captured seats in the All India Quota,” the plea of AIADMK said. The Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party said that in all past academic years since the inception of the All India Quota system, OBCs have been grossly under represented in the All-India-Quota seats in undergraduate, diploma, PG diploma and postgraduate medical colleges across the country.

The party said that it is a matter of fact that negligible numbers of OBC candidates were allocated any of the State-surrendered seats to the All India Quota in non-central Government medical institutions. “This is in contradiction to the reservation ethos in the State of Tamil Nadu and the current existing law (the Tamil Nadu 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, 1993) which provides 50 per cent reservation for OBCs,” it said.

It said that despite the provisions under law, in year 2019 in post graduate admissions, out of the 8,137 seats in All India Quota, total of 2,197 seats were to be reserved for OBCs but in reality, only 224 seats actually were allotted under the category, in non-Central Government medical colleges. It sought implementing of 50 per cent reservations as per the State law for the OBCs in seats surrendered by Tamil Nadu in the All India Quota for under graduate, post graduate medical and dental courses in 2020-21.

Storm over OBC reservation

Earlier, DMK and the Tamil Nadu unit of CPI (M) had moved the top court seeking similar quota reliefs for students in admissions in medical courses. The CPI (M) has made various union ministries including the health ministry, the Medical Council of India (MCI), the Dental Council of India (DCI) and National Board of Examinations (NBE) as parties to the petition. Providing professional education for marginalized people is very much essential not only for empowering such sections of society but also for democratization of the entire society and gradual eradication of caste oppression, discrimination and casteism, it said.

Earlier, DMK, in its plea, had said that it was opposing the denial of implementation of 50 per cent OBC policy of the state, other than in central government institutions. It said the MCI regulations clearly contemplate adherence to state reservation laws while filling up of the seats. “That the Director General of Health Services, Medical Counselling Committee and the Medical Council of India and Dental Council of India have grossly failed to provide reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBC) students in admissions to the Under Graduate, Diploma, PG Diploma and Post Graduate medical courses in all medical colleges across the country in the category of‘ state surrendered seats to the All India Quota’ in government and private medical colleges other than the central government institutions,” DMK had said.

The party said that the AIQ seats are contributed by states surrendering seats in the government and private medical and dental colleges as per the MCI regulations. The party sought ad-interim injunction restraining the respondents from proceeding further with All India Counselling for PG seats pursuant to the NEET PG 2020 results without following the 50 per cent reservation for OBC quota in Tamil Nadu pending disposal of the plea. It also sought ad-interim injunction restraining them from proceeding with conducting the NEET-UG 2020 or any counselling thereof without following the 50 per cent reservation for OBC quota in the state. The party also sought direction for calling of the records of the respondent pertaining to the Result of NEET-PG, 2020 published on January 30, by the NBE relating to the filling up of the All India Quota and quashing of the same.