Amravati protests excess reservation demands

AMRAVATI: On Thursday evening, the city witnessed a huge rally in protest of the ‘excess reservation’ that allegedly blocks admission to various courses and opportunities of employment and promotions to merit students from the open category.

Doctors, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants, post graduate students of medical colleges and women folks from the open category voluntarily took part in the Dandi stir as the organizers, Anti-excess reservation Ekta Manch, called it.

The protesters walked to the collectorate from Nehru Maidan wearing Gandhi caps and displaying banners and placards with slogans ‘Save merit, save nation’ and ‘Murder of merit’. A memorandum, demanding cancellation of ‘excess’ reservation in the state, was submitted to Collector Shailesh Naval.

Coordinator of the rally, Dr. Shrigopal Rathi told TOI,” We are not against Constitutional reservation. We are against excess reservation granted to various sections of the society in the state. This decision is depriving merit students from getting admissions to various courses.”

Adv. Brajesh Tiwari called for cancellation of excess reservation. “It will effect a forced brain drain as merit students will migrate to other countries for education and jobs as well.”

Dr. Atul Alsi said that excess reservation has left only 4% to 5% seats for the open category. “The constitution of India had granted reservations for the first ten years only, but successive governments persisted with them

for political gains. Though the Supreme Court has called for limiting reservation to 50%, the Central and state governments have extended it to 78% and with the earmarking system, it has gone up to almost 95%, leaving hardly any room for merit students from the open category. Is it not absurd that there are only 5% seats for the open category whereas there are 95% seats for the reserved category.”

In the memorandum submitted to the Collector, the march listed eight demands. Besides cancellation of excess reservation and earmarking system, the other demands included conditional reservation, only one time reservation in education/employment, no reservation in PG courses and in promotions, confining reservation to government schools and colleges only and reservations purely on economic norms and not on the basis of caste.