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A Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar
have ruled that the proposal to reserve employment in the private sector is not
politically desirable, feasible, or legal and has asked that the proposal be
shelved. The GoM consulted a varied group of experts including three legal
experts, corporate representatives, and social activists the panel concluded
that “it was not possible to provide reservations for the SCs and STs in the
private sector without amending the Constitution.” Even if it managed to amend
the Constitution, it “would not be able to affect the basic structure of the
Constitution.”
To amend the Constitution, the Government needs 2/3rd of the Parliament to
support the amendment—the Government is in minority and needs the support of
the communists, and regional parochial parties. The opposition party
Bharatiya
Janata Party has already said that it will oppose this move. Even it
manages to hammer out a compromise, the inability to “affect the basic
structure of the Constitution” is a legal way of saying that the amendment may
be unconstitutional and would be struck down by the Supreme Court.
A few days ago, Federal Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar
asserted that
“time was running out” for the private sector to implement voluntary
reservation as the Government was planning to bring in legislation to force the
issue down the corporate throat. Industrial bodies have consistently decried
the proposal insisting that it will lower the quality of work, cause capital
flight, and lower confidence of investors. It was instead proposing an
affirmative action program that guarantees that there will be no discrimination
based on race, sex, or social parameters. The Government was not happy with
that proposal and continues to be unhappy claiming that this is not enough.
Corporate bodies have threatened to take the matter to court if the Government
tried to force its will illegally.
Despite expert advice, opposition from directors of various premier
institutions, and academicians, the Chairman of the oversight committee charged
to oversee the implementation of reservation of 27% for Other Backward Classes
in these institutions has said that he wants the implementation to start in
2007. Moily’s plan is start the new reservation plan as the first phase in
premier institutions such as Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs), Indian
Institute of Management (IIM), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),
Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER). In
the second phase, he wants Central post graduate institutions and institutes to
be included from 2008-09. And, as the final phase he will include the private
unaided institutions to be included by 2009-2010. Veerappa Moily insists that
he wants to debate the definition of OBCs and the 27% reservation mandate and
concedes that private unaided colleges are out of the reservation ambit as the
Supreme Court had already ruled that the Government cannot force its will on
such colleges. Instead, he wants to push the implementation on private unaided
colleges to 2009-2010. It is not clear why he think that this may be
Constitutional or legal by then.
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