Debate reservations in minority edu institutions: Advani

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Pune, Apr 11: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior BJP leader L K Advani today sought a national debate on the issue on reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in minority educational institutions.

Talking to newspersons on the sixth day of the Bharat Suraksha Yatra, Mr Advani said reservations for the SCs and STs was a national obligation borne out of the nation's collective determination to achieve the social, economic and educational empowerment of the SCs and the STs.

In states like Kerala, numerous minority educational institutions were growing rapidly compared to non-minority ones. Therefore, there was no reason why only non-minority educational institutions should have the obligation of providing reservations for SCs and STs, he said.

He said minority educational institutions were exempted from the obligation of reserving seats for SCs, STs and OBCs as they enjoyed legal protection and there was a clamour among the Jain community --a relatively small community which had shown the world that it could prosper in trade, commerce and various professions solely because of hardwork-- for seeking minority tag for their educational institutions which will provide them with exemptions, benefits and protections.

The Ramakrishna Mission and Arya Samaj also want to be considered as ''minority institutions''. He said the principal reasons for articulating such a demand was the Congress and other parties' support for religion based reservations to enable the community to enjoy benefit for quotas in education and jobs.

Mr Advani said he had great respect for the Jain Samaj and would appeal to them to abandon their flawed demand. He has had discussions with community leaders including Acharya Mahapragya Maharaj, one of the greatest living saints. ''He has told that he was against Jains being declared a minority community,'' the BJP leader said.

Mr Advani said the BJP stoutly opposes communal quotas and added it was unfortunate that the Congress party and its allies were pushing for religion based reservations.

Their politics of minorityism was not guided by concern for the welfare of minorities but driven solely by the desire to consolidate their vote banks. The communal reservations fuelled by politics of minorityism were not only detrimental to national integration but were also not in the interests of the minorities themselves. This policy led to more and more Hindu sections demanding 'minority status' for themselves, he added.

''Therefore, the BJP opposes the demand,'' he said.

The BJP leader also conveyed his best wishes on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti. ''I also convey my felicitations to the Muslim brethren on the occasion of Id-Milad-Un-Nabi the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad.'' Mr Advani said the Constitutent Assembly appointed a Sub-Committee which included Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Dr B R Ambedkar, P Tandon, Gopinath Bardoloi to look into the demand for religion based reservation in education, employment and security forces and in Parliament and state legislatures. The panel said religious minorities should not be provided any reservation.

UNI

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