5th June 2020
To
Hon’ble Chief Ministers of all the States and Union Territories
Respected Sir,
Admission to Medical UG and PG Courses under All India Quota
‘Zero Reservation for OBCs’
Filing of Writ at the Apex Court Demanding Social Justice
Greetings to you Sir / Madam,
We like to remind and appeal to you on the vital current issue on social justice front which you would be aware of already.
Every year, the States are surrendering 50% of the seats in PG Medical courses (MD, MS & MDS) and 15% of seats in UG Medical Courses (MBBS & BDS) for the All India Quota for which counselling and admission is processed by the Medical Counselling Centre (MCC) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
All the States and the Union Territories are providing reservation for the Backward Classes for the remaining percentage of seats as per the reservation policy practiced in the respective States and Union Territories.
Medical Council of India (MCI), in exercise of its powers under Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 brought regulations for admission to PG / UG Medical Courses viz. the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000 and Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997.
Postgraduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 stipulates Under para 9: Procedure for selection of candidate for Postgraduate courses shall be as follows: Sub-clause (IV) states: “The reservation of seats in medical colleges/institutions for respective categories shall be as per applicable laws prevailing in States/ Union Territories. Similarly, Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 stipulates the same reservation policy for Graduate Courses (MBBS).
As per these regulations brought by MCI which is the authority for admission and selection of candidates to Medical Courses including All India Quota seats, it is mandatory on the part of DGHS to implement the reservation policy adopted by the respective States in the All India Quota seats also, as the same has been contributed by the State run medical institutions.
During this current academic year, the DGHS has published the seat matrix for NEET-PG Medical Courses and out of the total 7981 seats given by the States to All India Quota, not a single seat has been allotted to the Other Backward Class candidates. Only in Central Institutes, 27% reservation for OBCs have been provided. The State-wise seat break-up is enclosed that will show the number of seats contributed by your State and the allotment to OBCs is zero.
A cursory glance of the data given by the States to All India Quota since 2017 aggregates around 40,842, on which the OBCs allotment is ZERO.
Thus, to the shock and surprise of concerned citizens on social justice and the aggrieved Backward Class candidates, the OBC reservation in AIQ of medical and dental courses admission has not at all been adhered resulting in the loss of about 11,000 seats during the past 4 years for OBCs. Instead, the seats reserved for the Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates have been allotted to the ‘General Category’, depriving the constitutional rights of OBCs. Only ‘Zero Reservation’ was prescribed to OBCs. Indeed, a grave injustice to the sections comprising 52 per cent to the total of one billion plus population of our country!
The injustice meted out to OBCs was brought to the notice of the Central Government for which suitable action was not taken so far. After the continuance of Zero Reservation for OBCs in the current academic year, all the mainstream political parties in the Opposition side in Tamil Nadu, the ‘Land of Social Justice’ appealed to the Central Government to set right the issue but in vain. Now the political parties in Tamil Nadu – DMK, Congress, CPI, CPM and PMK have filed separate writ petitions in the Supreme Court of India. The State Government of Tamil Nadu, headed by AIADMK has also filed a writ at the apex court for the cause of OBCs.
The Constitutional provisions brought through the First Amendment (1951) and the Ninety-Third Amendment (2006) by the insertion of the Articles 15(4) and 15(5) respectively are to ensure the reservation for the socially and educationally backward classes of citizens.
Sir/Madam, as the elected ruling leader of your State / Union Territory you would be much concerned about the dispensation of social justice to OBCs and on the reservation for them in medical course admission under AIQ.
We earnestly appeal to you to raise your concern and voice of social justice to the Central Government on the issue and also to kindly consider filing a writ petition in the Supreme Court to ensure reservation for OBCs.
Sir/Madam, our Founder President of Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and great social revolutionary, Thanthai Periyar E.V.Ramasamy (1879-1973) throughout his life struggled and sacrificed for the cause of social justice to the hitherto discriminated majority people of this country – the Backward Classes, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. It was Periyar’s struggle against the revocation of Communal G.O. that had been prevailing in Tamil Nadu since 1928, forced the then government at the Centre headed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister and Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar as Law Minister to bring the first constitutional amendment in 1951 inserting Clause 4 in Article 15. The Amendment conferred the power to State to provide reservation in educational institutions not only in the State of Tamil Nadu but in all the States and the Union Territories including the Centre.
After Thanthai Periyar, following his ideological footsteps DK pursued towards the goal of social justice and had taken major efforts in bringing out the recommendations of the Mandal Commission Report on the corridors of Parliament for discussion and subsequent implementation during V.P.Singh Government in 1990. Cadres of DK were courted arrest on 16 occasions including taken into the custody in Delhi besides 42 conferences for the implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations.
When the total of 69% reservation that has been in vogue since 1980 in Tamil Nadu was challenged in the Supreme Court, it was Dravidar Kazhagam that rallied all the political parties and people of Tamil Nadu to protect the 69% reservation for which a draft bill was suggested by DK to the Tamil Nadu State Government. The Bill was accepted by then Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa and passed in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly to become The Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services Under the State) Act, 1993 and finally the Act was included in the IXth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the first of its kind in our country.
In 2005, Dravidar Kazhagam played a major role in ensuring the Central Government to bring the 93rd constitutional amendment and thereby The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 came for implementation.
Thus, to accomplish the ideals of Thanthai Periyar, Dravidar Kazhagam, as social movement, has been playing its role to protect and promote the dispensation of social justice to the deprived sections across the country. It is because of the awareness about the social justice created among the people and keeping up the solidarity of all the political parties in Tamil Nadu by Periyar Movement, the Torch of Social Justice has been glowing atop.
With this brief background and for the current need, DK reminds the States and the Union Territories for their timely initiatives to dispense social justice for the OBCs by ensuring the reservation of seats that was denied to them in the medical admission under All India Quota.
In case of need of any further details to pursue legally we are at your avail besides offering the logistic advice.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this communication. A mention of your readiness to pursue the issue through the Court of Law would facilitate us to fight for the cause unitedly.
With regards
Yours truly,
K.VEERAMANI
President, Dravidar Kazhagam
