Arjun: Seeking remedy

New Delhi, April 1: The battle over OBC quotas is gradually shifting to the political arena.

Human resource development minister Arjun Singh has begun consulting legal experts but ministry officials say the ball is in the court of political parties.

Additional solicitor-general Gopal Subramaniam today held talks with Arjun for over an hour. There was no official word on the discussions, but sources said the government was “anxious” for a solution.

A UPA-Left coordination committee meeting is likely on Thursday. A key topic on the agenda would be how to get the Supreme Court’s interim stay on the 27 per cent quota in higher education institutions vacated.

The CPM has made it clear it wants the government to meet the “challenge squarely”.

“The government must consult all national parties and work out a mechanism of meeting this challenge,” CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said at a party convention two days ago.

The HRD ministry is keen on an early date for the court hearing, now scheduled for August. The government could move a review petition saying the 1931 census should be valid for the OBC quota as it was the basis for a 27 per cent job quota.

The issue of a fresh census is likely to be discussed at the coordination committee meeting. The HRD ministry said it is a “political” decision and has to be taken by the government and political parties.

However, it is unlikely that the parties will endorse such a proposal as conducting a census is a protracted process that could take a minimum of five years.

The government expects all parties to root strongly for immediate implementation of quotas. Its southern allies, the DMK and the MDMK, have been flexing their muscles.

The DMK had called a bandh in Tamil Nadu yesterday. The Rashtriya Janata Dal and Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party have expressed outrage and warned of social unrest.

The government is likely to hone its strategy to counter the court order in Parliament when it convenes on April 26. There is no doubt about an all-party consensus on the quota, but Arjun does not want a “confrontation” with the judiciary.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has told Arjun the government will not backtrack on the quota bill though he has not been in favour of an additional quota.

There is a perception in the HRD ministry that the bill suffered the blow because the ruling party was a reluctant signatory to it.