Pranab, Arjun, Bhardwaj, Chidambaram to go into OBC quota: PM

New Delhi, May 17 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has constituted a four-member ministerial team, including HRD Minister Arjun Singh and and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, to finalise the steps for ensuring OBC quota in educational institutions.

The other members of the committee are Law Minister H R Bharadwaj and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

Besides weighing various options, including increasing the number of seats in premier institutions such as IIMs and IITs to protect the interests of all sections of society, the ministerial panel would also suggest whether to resort to the ordinance route to provide for reservation from the 2006-07 academic year, official sources said today.

Several political leaders, including PMK supremo Dr S Ramadoss who met the Prime Minister on the issue yesterday, confirmed the setting up of the panel, but the media managers of the PMO pleaded ignorance over the development.

The members of the panel could not be contacted, while it was not known whether the committee had been given a deadline for coming out with its report.

Mr Arjun Singh assured the Lok Sabha today that the interests of the agitating medical students and others would be protected.

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