OBC issue: DMK slams 'stringent parameters'

The unrest in the UPA on the issue of OBC quotas in central educational institutions came to the fore with the DMK, a key constituent of the ruling alliance, complaining against the "stringent parameters" for enjoying the benefit and demanding a "fair and just" review.

In the wake of the Supreme Court excluding the creamy layer among the OBCs from enjoying the benefit, DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi conveyed his party's views in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today.

In the letter, Karunanidhi requested the prime minister to take immediate measures for a "fair and just" review by the government of the various parameters, including the income limit, so that a solution to the issue was reached and the benefit extended in the ensuing academic session itself.

The DMK leader said the parameters for identifying the OBCs were "sweeping and indiscriminatory" and the income limit prescribed for the purpose had become outdated in the wake of the Sixth Pay Commission's recommendations.