Quota: DU students march through North Campus

New Delhi, May 19: The anti-reservation movement gained further impetus today with scores of Delhi University students staging protests in support of the striking doctors and medical students against the government proposal on OBC reservation.

On the sixth day of the strike by the doctors and medical students, the Delhi University students marched through the North Campus to the Vice Chancellor's residence.

Shouting anti-reservation slogans, the students, led by 'Management Guru' and author shiv khera, were demanding a complete roll-back of the government proposal, which has sparked off nation-wide protest on the issue.

''We are only demanding that the government ensures that merit is the criteria for higher education.... But the politicians of our country are only interested in their vote bank,'' said an angry Neha Verma of the Hundi College.

The students, wearing black armbands, said the ''divide and rule'' policy of the politicians will not succeed with the student community.

''We will not let dirty politics ruin our and the country's future. We will fight against this,'' said Pooja Sharma of the Khalsa college, who was brandishing a placard ''Bring Back Merit'.

The University students will join both the anti-reservation rallies, by medical and non-medical students tomorrow.

About 100 of the over 180 fasting students in AIIMS have been admitted to the AIIMS casualty unit due to dehydration and other complications. The hunger strike began on at AIIMS on May 13.

Medical services in Delhi's five premier government hospitals including AIIMS and LNJP, remained affected on the sixth day today due to the strike.

The first round of negotiations over the OBC reservation impasse failed yesterday, with the students rejecting Government's assurance not to disturb the general category seats.

''We conveyed our decision of continuing with the strike to Mr Fernandes at the meeting. The government's assurance that general category seats will not be reduced is not acceptable to us,'' Youth for Equality leader Dr Neha Gami.

The students and doctors took the decision at an emergency meeting of the Executive Council of the 'Youth for Equality', after talks with Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and Mr Fernandes earlier in the day.

UNI

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