By IANS,
New Delhi : The law ministry Wednesday wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) disapproving a special quota for the agitating Gujjar community, informed sources here said.
According to the government sources, the union cabinet discussed the issue Tuesday and referred it to the law ministry for its opinion.
The ministry has given its opinion in negative, citing two reasons: First, a four to six percent quota will go against the Supreme Court ruling on the 50 percent ceiling on the total quota in government jobs and educational institutions.
Secondly, the idea to tag this quota along with the 27 percent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) did not go down well the ministry, the sources said.
The Gujjars, currently classified among the OBCs but demanding Scheduled Tribe status, have called for a strike in the national capital region (NCR) Thursday.
Thousands of Gujjars have been holding a second round of protest in Rajasthan since Friday. At least 35 people have been killed in clashes between protesters and the police.
Following the agitation, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging the central government to consider a special quota for the community.