Quota raj

MPs love their quotas.

First, they took away the telephone connections. Next to go were cooking gas connections. These neoliberal and free market policies don’t just produce global financial crises, they take away our democratic rights as well.

Connections are what got us here in the first place, in this fine House of the People. With those in high places, of course. Unless we can demonstrate our viral linkages with the power structure to the ordinary people, why should they give us the time of the day, leave alone their votes?

Now, Kapil Sibal wanted to take away our quota of central school admissions, too. What is an MP worth, if he can’t get his seven crore constituents even two seats in a Kendriya Vidyalaya?

How can we get a needy student admission, if we don’t have a quota? It might be true that if our nominee doesn’t get admission, that seat won’t go empty but would go to some other needy student.

But then, an MP’s needy student is obviously better than a plain needy student. If you don’t see the point, perhaps you should drop in at the next meeting of our privileges committee.

We raised strong objections to Mr Sibal’s attack on an MP’s fundamental right to offer patronage, and we have prevailed. The quotas are back.

Well, the minister has refused to take back his own quota of 1,200 students. Poor Sibal, he doesn't understand that renouncing a KV school quota, even one as large as 1,200 seats, doesn’t cut a fraction of the ice renouncing the prime minister’s job does.

But does he actually not understand that when he tries to expand the number of good schools, he is actually hurting the value of the quota we have now finally got back?
    
The Supreme Court, luckily, perfectly comprehends an MP’s need to dispense patronage. It recently upheld the constitutional validity of the MP’s Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).

We suggest the scheme be modified to the MP’s Local Area Development Initiative and Empowerment Scheme (MPLADIES), in view of the women’s reservation Bill. One has to be gender sensitive, even with patronage.