Karat: CPM’s formula

New Delhi, May 22: CPM general secretary Prakash Karat today presented his party’s formula for reservation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, highlighting the need for quotas based on economic criteria.

Karat demanded the exclusion of the “creamy layer” ? the affluent from the weaker sections ? from reservation.

He said the number of seats should be increased so that students coming from a weak and poor background but do not fall in the reservation categories can be separately allocated seats.

The meeting was part of the series of discussions Singh has planned with political parties to get their views on reservation in education.

“We want the government to evolve a consensus and regulate all private educational institutions to check crass commercialisation of higher education,” said Karat after a 30-minute meeting with the Prime Minister and defence minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Traditionally, the CPM has not been in favour of caste-based reservation. It has stood for reservation on the basis of economic criteria.

But since the Mandal agitation, the CPM has mentioned economic reservation more as a ritual than a serious goal to be pursued.

On OBC reservation in higher education, the party has thrown its weight behind human resource development minister Arjun Singh.

Karat today said the party believed that reservation was only a “limited step”. There would be no real change unless there was land reform and an end to social and economic exploitation.

“Reservation should benefit the poorer and needy section among these communities. For this, there has to be socio-economic criteria which exclude the affluent and those already having access to jobs and higher education,” he said.