Docs told to vacate hostels

Government today cracked the whip on the doctors persisting with agitation in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, asking them to vacate their hostel rooms within 24 hours.

On the other hand, allegations were made that the AIIMS authorities were indirectly encouraging the strike against proposed reservations for OBCs in higher education.

The senior residents at AIIMS demonstrating against the quota were given notices by the ministry today asking them to vacate the hostel.

Yesterday, a Group of Ministers completed their deliberations on the issue and submitted their report to Primer Minister Manmohan Singh. The matter was also discussed at the Congress Working Committee meeting yesterday.

Sources said the government was expecting to resolve the issue by Monday. While the exact proposals made by the GoM to the PM are not known, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherji and Finance Minister P Chidambaram told students that the existing general category seats would remain untouched.

They said that seats would be created for the purpose of fulfilling the quota commitment to OBCs.

Sources said that new institutions were being suggested and the reservations were to be in place in a gradual way as and when seats were available in the new institutions.

Students, however, today vowed o continue the agitation and hunger strike here, rejecting the assurances given by the Centre as unsatisfactory.

"We are not here because we are worried about our seats being disturbed. We are worried about what will happen in future. Fewer general category seats is only a part of the whole problem. Hence by protecting those seats, the problem is not solved," students said today.

"Pranab Mukherji and P Chidambaram had told us verbally and bluntly that general category seats won't be affected whatever they did. They also told us that when seats are increased, the percentage of SC/ST seats would fall, hence becoming a possible issue for litigation. So the government would increase seats in such a way that the SC/ST seats, besides the OBC seats, are taken care of. This is what the ministers told us verbally. Nothing was given in writing," AIIMS Students Union leader Sasmit Sarangi said, adding, "But this was not what we had asked for. We are not going to keep quiet just because our general category seats remain undisturbed. What about the future? Our main demand was to set up an experts committee to look into the entire gamut of the issue of reservation."