PUDUCHERRY: The issue of regional allocation for students of Mahe, Karaikal and Yanam regions in medical, engineering and other institutions of higher education through allocation of 25 per cent for them is threatening to rip apart the Union Territory with Puducherry region demanding withdrawal of the policy and the outlying regions of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam continuing to demand regional reservation.
What is worrying is that the issue is no longer confined to party lines, but has united political parties in the respective regions. With election due in a few months, no political leader wants to lose out on public support in the respective regions by toeing a different line.
Going beyond party lines, all the six MLAs from Karaikal region including those of arch rivals DMK and AIADMK have joined hands to support the regional allocation.
That there is no ruling party MLA there has worked out to their convenience. When the government cancelled the regional allocation in self-financing medical colleges by invoking the GO of 2006 which provided the special allocation only for “government sponsored” colleges, following the commencement of admissions to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, a government college, the united MLAs along with other forums resorted to a protest through closure of all schools and colleges on August 30. A forum is planning to move the High Court of Madras seeking allotment of seats under regional allocation in private medical college under government quota.
On the other hand, though Puducherry MLAs are yet to unite and though they are up against the regional allocation which is affecting `meritorious’ students from Puducherry, some of them including S P Sivakumar of DMK and R Viswanathan of CPI have been supporting forums and associations fighting for the cause.
The PMK MLAs along with party volunteers and students had taken out a rally and later attempted to picket the territorial assembly seeking withdrawal of the regional allocation.
The opposition parties, including the AIADMK, though they have not come out actively, have been issuing statements demanding withdrawal so as not to lose public support on this issue, especially when elections are due.
The issue is far from being addressed by the government on its merits and possible solutions to the satisfaction of all are yet to evolve.
While Puducherry MLAs, forums and people question the backwardness of the outlying regions when students from the outlying regions have topped the Centac merit list, Karaikal MLAs state that without regional allocation, students from the outlying regions are able to secure only 15 to 20 per cent seats with 80 to 85 percent seats going to students from Puducherry region.
Basically, these aspects of the issue have become untouchable. The government is not willing to go by the merits of the issue, fearing any change in policy could hit them at the hustings. In fact, with two ministers from outlying regions, they also do not want problems in their re-election through any change in policy.
With five Assembly seats in Karaikal region, the Congress government is wooing the Karaikal region, remembering the debacle it suffered in the previous election by losing all the four seats the Congress contested.
With the stand on the issue not remaining confined to political party lines, it has become one region versus another. While the Karaikal Struggle Group is raising voice on a separate UT status for Karaikal on any issue, Puducherry associations are also gearing up to toe the same line by seeking separate UT status for Puducherry to safeguard their interest.
However, it would be considered as a last resort, say those associated with forums fighting against regional allocation.
