New Delhi: Less than 24 hours after the Tamil Nadu government took the executive route to approve 7.5% horizontal quota for students of state-run schools in admission to undergraduate medical courses from the current 2020-21 academic year, governor Banwarilal Purohit on Friday granted assent to the Bill.
The governor’s nod came after the solicitor general opined that the Bill was in consonance with the Constitution of India.
Earlier, the AIADMK government had issued a government passed an executive order to approve the horizontal quota. The move came as the Bill passed by the state assembly last month was pending before Purohit. The executive order was necessitated, the government said, as there was an urgency to decide on the issue since the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) results have been declared and the admission process has begun.
As per a government order (GO), 7.5% of the seats were set apart on a preferential basis to government school students qualifying in NEET, in admissions to MBBS, BDS, BSMS, BAMS, BUMS, and BHMS from the academic year 2020-21.
Previous developments
The executive route was seen as the AIADMK government’s move to take the wind out of the sails of the main opposition party, the DMK, which has been upping the ante on the issue and had staged protests demanding immediate implementation of the reservation.
DMK president M.K. Stalin had welcomed the GO, adding that his party’s continuous protests pressure forced the government to take the route. “If the Tamil Nadu government has powers to issue the G.O, why should it adopt a bill and send it for Governor’s assent?” he asked.
The implementation of horizontal reservation, applicable to students who studied in government schools from class 6 to 12, became crucial for the ruling party as the issue evolved into a focal point in the state, where assembly elections are due during April-May next year.
Though a delegation of ministers had requested Purohit to clear the bill soon, he had earlier said that it may require three-four weeks for him to examine it. Almost all political parties in the state, including the BJP, had urged the governor to clear the bill.
The GO issued by the Health and Family Welfare department said since the power to issue executive directions under Article 162 of the Constitution is co-extensive with the legislative powers, pending the decision of the governor, the government has taken a policy decision to provide reservation.
The 7.5% quota shall be provided in each category of vertical reservation followed in Tamil Nadu within the 69% reservation. The setting apart of seats on a preferential basis is applicable to state quota seats in all government medical and dental colleges as well as all courses for which NEET has been prescribed as an eligibility criteria. It would also be applicable to seats allotted by the state government in self-financing medical and dental colleges, minority and non-minority (institutions) and under all disciplines, the G.O said. The state-run school students are also entitled to compete for government seats, other than the 7.5%, along with students who studied in private schools.
The Bill was passed in the assembly on September 15. The quota initiative was based on the recommendations of a committee, headed by retired Madras high court Justice Kalayarasan.