Lalu endorses reservation for OBCs

New Delhi, May 5 (UNI) Rejecting reservation on the linguistic basis, Railway Minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad today lent his weight to rpt to the Government's move to reserve seats for OBCs in institutions of higher education.

''The Mandal Commission recommendations are already in force and Parliament has also unanimously passed a legislation providing for reservations to OBCs in educational institutions,'' Mr Prasad told reporters here.

He said the reservation for SCs and STs had already been enshrined in the Constitution and it was now imperative to extend this benefit for the OBCs.

''Reservation for the needy even in the upper castes is not undesirable,'' he quipped.

The recent announcement by Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh providing reservation for OBCs in educational institutions has triggered strong protests by students across the country, who are agitated over the shrinking space for general category students.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Janata Dal (U) leader Sharad Yadav have also supported the quota move while discounting apprehensions that it would lead to compromise with quality.

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