OBC quota a victory for coalition politics: Left

New Delhi, May 24: Observing that coalition politics in the country was gradually coming of age as was evident in the government decision yesterday to introduce 27 per cent reservation for OBCs from June next year, the Left parties today expressed confidence that the move would not lead to a repeat of the 1990 Mandal agitation.

They also sought to allay fears of the striking medicos who have threatened to intensify their agitation, saying there was no question of reducing the number of general category seats in institutions of higher education in the process.

In separate interviews to sources, leaders of the CPI(M), CPI and RSP said the decision would not only cement relations of the Left with the allies in the UPA on this issue, but would also embarrass BJP which would ''no longer be able to directly and indirectly support the agitationists''.

''The decision we took was in continuation of our stand on reservations in the context of the Supreme Court fixing the reservation quota up to 50 per cent and the consensus among all parties (including the BJP) on the 93rd constitutional amendment,'' CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said.

''We took a position that the decision must be implemented without further delay... No wavering or dithering on it... This has shown that even a coalition government can take a historical decision provided it has firm political will,'' he said.

Such reservations, Mr Bardhan said, necessitated amendments by the state government as well. The Centre had to pass a law, but could not do so because of Assembly elections.

He said the grievance of the agitating doctors and medical students was genuine because the graduate and post-graduate facilities for them were limited, but the meeting that decided on the issue took special care to ensure that there was no reduction in the general seats. ''Instead we set up a committee to find ways to increase the number of seats,'' Mr Bardhan said.

When asked about the political fallout of the decision, the CPI veteran evaded a direct reply but said, ''Jo log hichkichahat kar rahe the, unki reed ki haddi ko mazboot kar diya (We hardened the spines of those who had been dithering).'' A more forthright CPI National Secretary Shamim Faizi said, ''The decision will disarm those who want to politically exploit the fear psychosis of the medicos and other institutions....This will put the BJP in soup.'' Even though the BJP was part of the all-party consensus, it was clandestinely supporting the agitation while publicly posturing as one which wanted implementation of the 93rd Constitutional amendment, he alleged.

He said this would further ''cement'' the coalition allies and their relations with the Left.

OBC quota a victory for coalition politics, says Left CPI(M) Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Mohammad Salim insisted that the decision would not ''alienate'' the urban and middle classes from the UPA constituents and the Left parties as the government had simply discharged its commitment in the common minimum programme.

Asked whether the decision was more political in nature than an action toward social justice, the CPI(M) leader said, ''Of course it is a political decision because we are committed to the principle of growth with equity.'' He said all backward areas, people and districts had to be incorporated in the scheme of things.

Referring to the protestors, Mr Salim they were mainly from the medical colleges as there were limited seats for speciality and super-speciality courses. ''Why should not build a case for increasing the number of seats?'' He also raised the issue of ''moneyed people'' buying seats on the strength of money power in medical institutions. ''We wanted the deprived sections, not the creamy layer to join the mainstream through all-India competition.'' On the possibility of a replay of the Mandal agitation of 1990, he asserted, ''History does not repeat itself. The ongoing agitation is not by all sections.'' Besides, the CPI(M) leader added, whenever a radical and historic step is taken, the ''status-quoists'' always react.

RSP National Secretary and MP Abani Roy, endorsing the other Left leaders' viewpoint, said he did not see any immediate fallout of the decision and that it was too early to say.

Mr Roy also said he did not foresee the ''isolation'' of the middle and the urban classes, saying, ''The interests of all sections is being taken care of''.

He, however, did not rule out the possibility of the BJP ''playing politics'' in this matter. ''It will be difficult for it to get aligned with the upper castes at the cost of the OBCs and other deprived sections.''

UNI