Stalin seeks support of top national leaders on OBC reservation

DMK chief M K Stalin on Wednesday dialled the country's top political leaders,including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, seeking their cooperation in "exerting pressure" on the Centre to provide OBC reservation in medical seats surrendered to All-India Quota (AIQ).

DMK chief M K Stalin on Wednesday dialled the country's top political leaders,including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, seeking their cooperation in "exerting pressure" on the Centre to provide OBC reservation in medical seats surrendered to All-India Quota (AIQ). Gandhi wrote to Stalin, expressing her support for "extending reservation to OBC candidates under the All India Quota for UG/PG courses in State/UT medical colleges, in accordance with the state reservation policy." Stalin uploaded Gandhi's letter on his official Twitter handle and thanked her for her support.

In her letter, the Congress chief recalled that she had written to the Centre on July 3, 2020, strongly urging it to extend reservation to OBC candidates under the AIQ for UG/PG medical courses in state/UT colleges. "I hope that the Central government will consider providing OBC reservation under the All India Quota in accordance with the State reservation policy," she said.

"The continuing denial of reservation to OBC candidates violates the spirit of equity and inclusion in higher education and threatens to undo progressive social justice policies," she said, and extended her party's support for the cause. The Madras High Court had on Monday directed the Central government to constitute a committee to decide on the issue of providing OBC reservation in all-India seats surrendered by Tamil Nadu for medical admission.

Such a committee, comprising representatives from the Centre, state and Medical Council of India, should be constituted within three months, the court had said. In a tweet, Stalin said he had spoken to the leaders after the High Court's "historical judgment," seeking their support to "urge the Centre to convene a committee meeting on priority, include OBC reservation in state contributed medical seats to AIQ (All India Quota) and uphold state reservation laws." He spoke to non-BJP, non-Congress Chief Ministers, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh and K Chandrasekhar Rao of Telangana, besides their Maharashtra and West Bengal counterparts Uddhav Thackeray and Mamata Banerjee, respectively, a party release said.

He also spoke to General Secretaries of CPI(M) and CPI, Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, BSP supremo Mayawati, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and NC leader Omar Abdullah..