By IANS
New Delhi : The Supreme Court verdict Thursday upholding the law for reservation to backward category students in government-run institutions of higher education negates BJP’s consistent opposition to exemption of minority educational institutes from the ambit of the quota law.
In its ruling, the apex court has held that exempting minority educational institutions from the ambit of the quota law and not forcing them to reserve seats for backward category students is not unconstitutional.
“Exclusion of minority educational institutions” from the ambit of the law for reservation of seats for backward category institutes “does not violate the constitutional provision for equality”, said Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan in his ruling.
He added: “The minority educational institutions, by themselves, are a separate class and their rights are protected by other constitutional provisions,”
Recalling the Bharatiya Janata Party’s consistent opposition to the law for not enforcing the reservation for backward category students in minority educational institutions, BJP vice president M.A. Naqvi told IANS: “We always felt that backward category students should have been provided reservation in minority educational institutes as well.
“If you are so keen to provide reservation to backward category students in various educational institutions, including those run by the government and even the private-unaided ones, the minority educational institutions, too, should not have been exempted from reserving seats for them,” said Naqvi.