PM buys time on quota, forms panel

New Delhi: HRD minister Arjun Singh is holding firm on his resolve to push ahead with reservations in higher education insitutions.

It's the kind of public stand that has pushed the Prime Minister's office on the defensive. In an attempt to buy time, the Prime Minister has now constituted a Committee to look into the issue.

The Committee comprises of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Finance minister P Chidambaram, HRD minister Arjun Singh and Law Minister Hans Raj Bharadwaj.

The Committee will also consider the proposal of hiking seats in educational institutions.

As Parliament debates the reservation issue, a Parliamentary Standing Commitee submitted its report on Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation submits its report and poses some uncomfortable quetion before the government.

The Committee, in it's report says that the Social Justice Minister does not have any data on total population of backward classes.

The Committtee does not buy the Ministry's arguement that office of the Registrar General of India has refused to conduct OBC census and says that in absence of this data, the objective of economic development of backward will not be achieved.

"We are providing reservation for the OBCs. As a whole, they have to collect the information. My advice to the government is that hereafter, in the next census, is to collect information from the minorities. There is nothing wrong in it," says TDP parliamentary party leader K Yerran Naidu.

So, while none of the politicians are willing to speak out against reservation, the fact is that no one seems concerned about finding out just what is the percentage of OBCs and how many of them need the benefit of reservation.