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Doctors to continue agitation
Special Correspondent
| Stick to demand on "rollback of reservation for the Other Backward Classes" |
RAGING ISSUE: A pro-reservation congregation at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Monday.
NEW DELHI: The stalemate over reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in institutions of higher education continued on Monday with talks between Health Secretary P.K. Hota and the striking doctors ending inconclusively.
"The talks have been inconclusive," Mr. Hota told The Hindu after six hours of discussion with the resident doctors and medical students. Mr. Hota read out a "fresh" appeal on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. However, the students rejected it, saying there was nothing new in it.
"We were initially hopeful that something concrete would come out since technocrats were also present during the discussion, but the Government is adamant," Vinod Patra of the AIIMS Resident Doctors Association said. "We stick to our demands of a complete roll-back of reservation for the OBCs and the setting up of an experts committee to review the reservation policy."
Personal assurance
Mr. Hota said Dr. Singh "had personally assured the students that he would ensure a fair, just and an inclusive education system." Also, the appeal contained an assurance about safeguarding the number of seats in the general category.
"This is a valid assurance since there is an expansion of medical education that would help in increasing the number of seats not only in the general category but also in the other categories. Six AIIMS-like institutions are being set up and 11 others upgraded to include postgraduate courses, and a budget of Rs. 4,000 crore has been provided. This will increase the number of postgraduate seats by 1,000. These will also require 5,000-6,000 doctors, besides a huge number under the National Rural Health Mission programme."
The students were told that their fears and anxieties had been conveyed to the Prime Minister's Office. Talks were an ongoing process, and the students could get back to him as and when they wanted to. "I have not set any pre-conditions but I sincerely feel that they should have trust in the Government," Mr. Hota said.
Pro-reservation meet
Even as the anti-reservation agitation continued, a "mahapanchayat" of pro-reservation activists also took place. Demanding that the Government implement the 27 per cent quota for the OBCs within three months, the activists threatened to take to the streets if this was not done.
The "mahapanchayat," held at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, was convened by the former Uttar Pradesh Minister, Ashok Yadav.
"The people will come out on the streets to fight for their rights, and nothing can stop us. Reservation is our constitutional right, and no government can stop us from getting it," he said.
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