UP SC/ST Commission issues notice to the AMU on quota row

In the wake of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's recent statement asking for quota for SC / ST students in Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia, UP SC/ST Commission issued notice to Aligarh Muslim University on Wednesday.

Asserting that AMU was not a minority institution, UP SC/ST Commission chairman Brijlal asked the varsity to explain why it does not give reservation to SC / ST students.

"We have asked AMU as to why SC/ST students have not been given reservation. Under what circumstances it has been done,’’ BrijLal said at a press conference in Lucknow on Wednesday. The former DGP added, "It seems that AMU is not following constitutional responsibility and anything further can be said only after a reply from the AMU.’’

Brij Lal stated that the Supreme Court and various High Court directives have established that AMU was not a minority institution. 

“The Supreme Court has not yet passed any order in which AMU was prevented from providing reservation to SC/STs. In the light of SC and HC directives, it has been established that AMU is not a minority institution,” he said.  

Brij Lal compared the AMU to other Central universities formed under a Central Act, running on its funds.

“The Commission will use its power and issue summons to them,” said Brij Lal, on being asked the future discourse of AMU if in case it did not reply within the stipulated time.

National SC Commission chairman and BJP MP Ramshankar Katheria on Tuesday had summoned AMU vice-chancellor in Aligarh. He said that he has given a month’s time to AMU to furnish proof of its minority status and if the varsity failef to provide the documents and still did not introduce quota for SC/ST and OBCs then the Commission would urge the Centre to stop grants to the varsity.

In the absence of AMU VC, pro-VC Professor Tabassum Shahab explained the varsity's stand to the Commission. Shahab said that under AMU act of 1981 passed by the Parliament, the university was accorded minority status. "Apart from that minority institutions were barred from other constitutional reservations under section 15(5)," she underlined.

The Pro-VC also stated that the matter of minority status of AMU was pending in the Apex court. He said that AMU has not followed reservation policy for Muslims though internal students of institute get 50 percent reservation without any discrimination of caste, creed or faith. The Professor said that AMU will reply on questions of the Commission on reservation. While Commission chairman Rama Shankar Katheria said that the present governments has amended 1951, 1965 and 1971 University Acts and that as per information received from AMU, 12 per cent Scheduled Caste students got admission in the varsity and .7 pe rcent teachers and workers were employed by the institution.

Meanwhile, BJP MP from Aligarh Satish Kumar Gautam on July 3 wrote to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) vice-chancellor Tariq Mansoor demanding reservation to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates.

Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sunil Sajan hit out at the BJP for raising the issue of reservation in AMU. "Why is the BJP realising the importance of quota to SC / ST and Backwards after four years ? This is being done for political gains as elections are near. The anger against the government is growing because no promise made to the people has been fulfilled," Sajan said.