OBC quota: HRD, PMO fight turf war

New Delhi: The controversial proposal to increase reservation for backward classes in higher education institutes has now sparked off a tussle within the Union Government.

There seems to be a turf war between the HRD ministry and the Prime Minister's Office over the proposal. While the Cabinet Secretary's office has returned the draft bill, HRD Minister Arjun Singh is reported to have remained defiant.

According to sources, the minister has decided to send the bill back to the Cabinet after seeking permission from the Election Commission.

The Election Commission is learnt to be unhappy with the HRD minister's reply to its show-cause notice, in which Singh denied the charge that he had prima facie violated the model of conduct for elections by announcing plans for reservation in elite educational institutions.

The Election Commission is now examining the follow-up steps in this regard.

In his reply, Arjun Singh said it was unfortunate that he had been served a notice though a final decision had not been taken in the matter.

"This notice has been given to me on the basis of media reports. Also, these media reports themselves suggest that a final decision on the proposed reservation has to be taken only after the elections in five states," he said.

Singh said: "There was no announcement of any concession, much less any other breach of the model code of conduct. There is no basis even for a prima facie view to that effect."

Earlier, Cabinet Secretary BK Chaturvedi had last week returned the HRD Ministry's proposal to reserve 27 per cent seats for Other Backward Castes in all Central Universities and colleges -- including IITs and IIMs. Chaturvedi said the proposal would be taken only up after the ongoing Assembly elections in the four states and one union territory are over.

HRD sources said that the bill on reservations would be sent back to the Cabinet after seeking permission from the Election Commission. In its proposal, the HRD Ministry had mooted raising reservations from the current 22.5 per cent to as high as 49.5 per cent.

Arjun Singh himself is believed to have written to the states asking them to speed up the process so that it may be ready for implementation for the 2006-7 academic session in state-level institutions.