The pressure to implement the 27 percent mandated reservation in medical seats for OBCs seems to be getting heavier as President of the Indian National Congress and the Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Sonia Gandhi has now written to the Prime Minister on the issue. After several Tamil Nadu parties took the issue to the Supreme Court and were directed to the Madras High Court, the senior Congress leader wrote that the denial of the seats is violative of the objective of the Constitution.
“The denial of reservation is a barrier to access medical education for deserving OBC candidates. In the interest of equity and social justice, I strongly urge the Union Government to extend reservation for OBC candidates in the All India Quota of medical and denial of seats, even in the State/Union Territories medical education institutions,” she wrote.
The politician pointed out in her letter, that the 93rd Constitutional Amendment envisages special provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the SC, ST admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State other than the minority educational institutions.
Citing the data provided by the All India Federation of Other Backward Classes, Gandhi said, “Under All India Quota, seats are reserved for SC, ST and EWS in all central and state universities but the OBCs are only given reservation in central institutions. As per AIFOBC, OBC candidates have lost over 11,000 seats in the All India Quota since 2017 over non-implementation of OBC reservations.”
