|
Demand for a separate Bill on quota in private institutions |
|
|
|
|
Sunday, 11 December 2005 |
|
New Delhi, December 11
The All India Confederation of SC and ST Organisations today demanded two separate Bills on reservation to Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the private unaided professional institutions instead of bracketing them in the same Bill. The demand to this effect was raised at a rally organised by the Confederation at Ram Lila grounds here today, which was attended by Dalits from all over the country.
Confederation Chairman Udit Raj said, "The Bill is not properly drafted because the reservation Bill meant for SCs and STs and OBCs is combined, whereas there should have been two separate Bills each of the two groups due to variation in rules."
Demanding the passage of the Bill in the current session of Parliament, he said the "confusion" on reservation in these
institutions should be removed.
He criticised both the UPA and NDA governments for not being "sincere" in implementing the reservation policy and filling up the backlog of reserved posts in various government departments.
"Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised to the Dalit leaders that 80 per cent backlog of reserved vacancies would be filled by December 2005, but various government departments even do not have
statistics ready on backlog," he claimed. While the NDA government had drastically reduced job opportunities in
government sector by slashing staff strength by 10 per cent, the UPA government had also not done anything substantial to "revive" the recruitment of reserved categories, he said
He said that the confederation had also submitted a memorandum to the US President seeking his help in ensuring reservation for Dalits in US businesses in India.
The Dalits are highly dismayed with the UPA government not doing anything in the past one and a half years, he said. The NDA government had lost in the elections because it disinvested several public sector enterprises, which provided employment particularly to Dalits, he alleged.
He alleged that the Scheduled Caste Commission and the Scheduled Tribe Commission were not able to further the cause of Dalits because they lacked judicial, administrative and financial autonomy.
He called upon the government to ensure compulsory and equal education, time-bound promotion of safai karamcharis, ban on contract system and making caste certificate of one state valid in the other for the purposes of reservation.
The inclusion of Dalits in the Army would strengthen it and their representation in the judiciary would ensure that judgements have views of all sections of the society, he said.
The rally and the spill from the India-Sri Lanka test match at the Ferozeshah Kotla grounds caused considerable traffic snarls in the evening, particularly in the areas around the venues.
|
News