DIMAPUR, APRIL 6 (MExN): Members of Parliament, Lok Sabha from the North East region has shot a letter of protest to Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister, Prakash Javedekar to initiate necessary action on the issue of violation of reservation policy by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Two MPs from Tripura- Jitendra Choudhury (Lok Sabha) and Jharna Das Baidya (Rajya Sabha) has also expressed their disagreement with this policy of the JNU. Apart from the duo, Lok Sabha MP from Shillong, Meghalaya Vincent H Pala, Lok Sabha MP from Karbi Anglong, Assam Biren Singh Engti, Lok Sabha MP from Mizoram CL Ruala, Lok Sabha MP from Sikkim Prem Das Rai and Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh Ninong Ering were also among the signatories. The letter sought the attention of the Minister of HRD on the issue of removal of reservation policy of SC, ST, OBC and People with disability (PWD) from various clauses. The MPs are against the new admission policy implemented by the JNU administration for admission in MPhil/PhD and PhD which states that candidates from all categories (General, SC/ST/OBC/PWD) shall have to secure minimum 50% marks in a written examination to qualify for a viva voice examination which will be the sole criteria for selection. It reminded that the University constituted a committee in 2016 to study the discrimination in the admission process with special reference to viva voce. The committee submitted its report based on the data (2012-2015), which recommended that the discriminatory pattern would get mitigated if the viva voce is reduced from 30 to 15 marks. This shows that the University has violated the Act of Parliament- the Central Education Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act 2006, the MPs stated. The letter also asserted that the JNU has also violated the constitutional provision for access to higher education by ST/SCs in violation with Article 15(1), 15(4) of the constitution and Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989. There have been complaints of violation of reservation policies in the recent past as well- the recent being the violation of reduction of fees policy for ST/SC students in Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
