Storm over OBC reservation in AIQ in state medical colleges

NEW DELHI: The All India Federation of Other Backward Classes Employees’ Welfare Association has complained to the National Commission of Backward Classes alleging that since 2017, the 27% OBC reservation has not been implemented in the All-India Quota seats in state-run medical colleges.

In every state medical college, 15% seats are reserved for the All-India Quota and filled through centralised counselling following the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test, or NEET. The central policy of reservation is supposed to apply here. However, the association has alleged that there has been no reservation for OBC students since 2017 in either undergraduate or postgraduate seats. This, the association argues, has cost the members of the OBC community around 3,000 seats across India every year for the past three years. As per the association, the seats which were supposed to be reserved for OBC quota are going to be transferred to the General (Unreserved) category.

The complaint to the commission was made on May 11, reported the Press Trust of India, and instantly caused a furor with several political parties moving court over it.

Political parties move court
The Tamil Nadu unit of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on undergraduate admissions in the state’s medical courses since OBCs were being denied reservation.

Their plea said: “The Petitioner (CPIM) is constrained to approach this court as the Respondents (Centre, MCI and others) herein have grossly failed to provide the statutory reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBC) i.e. Backward Classes (BC) and Most Backward Classes (MBC) and anomaly in granting reservation to SC-STs students in admissions to the Undergraduate and PostGraduate medical courses in all medical colleges in Tamil Nadu in the category of ‘state surrendered seats to the All India Quota’ in Government and private medical colleges other than the Central Government institutions.”

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, or DMK, also petitioned the Supreme Court. Its plea said: " 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 UnderGraduate, 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.”

NEET is one of the biggest examinations for admission in medical and dental courses, under which 85% of the state quota seats are reserved for the domicile candidates of a particular state. The remaining 15% seats are pooled from state and central institutes and are open for candidates across the states.

(Inputs from PTI)