06-28-2006, 03:01 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Papa Ramadoss demands ordinance factory </b>
PIoneer.com
Yogesh Vajpeyi | New Delhi
After Arjun & Meira, new contender for quota crown ---- The scramble for the quota crown, which saw Congress leaders Arjun Singh, Meira Kumar and Veerappa Moily vying with each other to emerge as the messiah of the Mandal-II mantra, has taken a curious turn with Tamil Nadu OBC leader S Ramadoss pitching in.
The founder president of Founder-president of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) now insists that the UPA Government bring an ordinance to implement 27 per cent quota for OBCs in higher education without waiting for the next Session in Parliament.
And he is running around the country mobilising support for his demand-wooing not only sympathetic Congress leaders but also UPA partners like RJD chief Lalu Prasad's RJD, LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan but also Congress-baiters like Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bihar's NDA Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
To prove his earnestness for the cause, the father of Union Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss on Tuesday called on former Prime Minister VP Singh and invited him to a national seminar on 'Social Justice for OBCs' that the PMK is organising in Delhi on July 2.
The move seems to have pressed the panic buttons in the Congress camp, forcing HRD Minister Arjun Singh to call on PM Manmohan Singh on Tuesday evening.
There was no official word on what transpired at their meeting. But sources indicated that Arjun Singh underlined the necessity of rushing through the legislation to enforce 27 percent OBC quota in higher education in Parliament without delay.
HRD Minister's meeting with the PM acquires significance in the backdrop of reports that Social Welfare Minister Meira Kumar had questioned the circulation of a draft cabinet note on the reservation policy without waiting for the report of the Oversight Committee headed by former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily.
The Moily Committee, set up to prepare the roadmap for implementation of reservation in elite educational institutions in the midst of wide-spread protests, had announced that it would submit its interim report by July 15.
But it had also suggested that the Government keep the proposed legislation on the hold till its final report so that some "innovative suggestions" the committee was formulating could be incorporated.
<b>The confusion and cacophony in the UPA camp, especially within the Congress is likely to put Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a dilemma.
The two have so far kept quiet on different aspects of the raging reservation controversy. While the Congress cannot oppose the OBC quotas, it would not like to be seen overzealous to rush through a legislation on the contentious issue in view of crucial state assembly elections due in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Punjab due early next year.
"The Upper caste comprise a sizable sections of the electorate in these states and have been traditional supporters of the Congress and the party would not like to alienate them by giving an impression that it was unconcerned with some of their genuine concerns," a senior Congress leader said, on condition of anonymity.</b>
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PIoneer.com
Yogesh Vajpeyi | New Delhi
After Arjun & Meira, new contender for quota crown ---- The scramble for the quota crown, which saw Congress leaders Arjun Singh, Meira Kumar and Veerappa Moily vying with each other to emerge as the messiah of the Mandal-II mantra, has taken a curious turn with Tamil Nadu OBC leader S Ramadoss pitching in.
The founder president of Founder-president of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) now insists that the UPA Government bring an ordinance to implement 27 per cent quota for OBCs in higher education without waiting for the next Session in Parliament.
And he is running around the country mobilising support for his demand-wooing not only sympathetic Congress leaders but also UPA partners like RJD chief Lalu Prasad's RJD, LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan but also Congress-baiters like Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bihar's NDA Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
To prove his earnestness for the cause, the father of Union Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss on Tuesday called on former Prime Minister VP Singh and invited him to a national seminar on 'Social Justice for OBCs' that the PMK is organising in Delhi on July 2.
The move seems to have pressed the panic buttons in the Congress camp, forcing HRD Minister Arjun Singh to call on PM Manmohan Singh on Tuesday evening.
There was no official word on what transpired at their meeting. But sources indicated that Arjun Singh underlined the necessity of rushing through the legislation to enforce 27 percent OBC quota in higher education in Parliament without delay.
HRD Minister's meeting with the PM acquires significance in the backdrop of reports that Social Welfare Minister Meira Kumar had questioned the circulation of a draft cabinet note on the reservation policy without waiting for the report of the Oversight Committee headed by former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily.
The Moily Committee, set up to prepare the roadmap for implementation of reservation in elite educational institutions in the midst of wide-spread protests, had announced that it would submit its interim report by July 15.
But it had also suggested that the Government keep the proposed legislation on the hold till its final report so that some "innovative suggestions" the committee was formulating could be incorporated.
<b>The confusion and cacophony in the UPA camp, especially within the Congress is likely to put Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a dilemma.
The two have so far kept quiet on different aspects of the raging reservation controversy. While the Congress cannot oppose the OBC quotas, it would not like to be seen overzealous to rush through a legislation on the contentious issue in view of crucial state assembly elections due in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Punjab due early next year.
"The Upper caste comprise a sizable sections of the electorate in these states and have been traditional supporters of the Congress and the party would not like to alienate them by giving an impression that it was unconcerned with some of their genuine concerns," a senior Congress leader said, on condition of anonymity.</b>
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