Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who was instrumental in pushing the controversial OBC quota in institutes of excellence, has confirmed that the government would move the apex court for review of its interim order of March 29, which stayed the 27 per cent quota rule for the OBCs for the year 2007-2008.
The court had also asked the government to provide more information regarding the census of 1931.
"Our legal experts have been on the job and either on Thursday or Friday, we will file our petition before the Supreme court to review its earlier order," Arjun Singh told mediapersons at a press conference in Delhi on Wednesday evening.
He denied that the government was complacent, and that students of OBC category would have to go to private institutes for admission in view of the court order.
Arjun Singh said that he was hopeful the court would look at the case of the OBC students sympathetically.
He said the government was looking into the reports on books meant for distribution among students allegedly being sold in the open market.
"We will certainly take action against the culprits," he said.
The minister said the decision to set up South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation univerities was taken at the meeting of the SAARC heads of states.
"These universities have to be set up in all the SAARC countries. No decision has been taken up about the setting up of two universities in India," he said.
Speaking on the deliberations at the conference of state education ministers held in New Delhi on April 10-11, 2007, the minister in his address to the media said there were a number of important points on which consensus was reached.
One such point was agreement regarding enactment of state-specific legislations to give effect to the 93rd Constitutional Amendment, which enables reservations for SCs, STs and socially and educationally backward classes in educational institutions.
"There was agreement on on the implementation of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, which was enacted and notified in Janury 2007 by an interim order of the honourable Supreme Court, which has been kept in abeyance. The conference noted that the Central government is examining all legal options to resolve this issue at the earliest," he said.
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