New Delhi [India], March 31: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has reiterated the demand for legislation to enforce Article 15(5) of the Constitution in private educational institutions, calling it a “revolutionary amendment.”
“This provision allows reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in both government and private institutions,” Ramesh stated. He highlighted that the amendment was introduced in 2006 during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Education Minister Arjun Singh.
“In the first phase, we implemented this in government educational institutions such as Delhi University, IITs, and IIMs. In 2014, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of Article 15(5). However, 11 years have passed under PM Modi’s government, and it has been completely ignored,” Ramesh added.
The Congress leader emphasized that Article 15(5), introduced through the 93rd Amendment Act of 2005, allows for special provisions to advance socially and educationally backward classes, SCs, and STs in both aided and unaided private institutions, excluding minority educational institutions.
Ramesh also cited landmark Supreme Court judgments, including Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India (2008), IMA vs. Union of India (2011), and Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust v. Union of India (2014), which validated Article 15(5).
He reaffirmed that implementing this provision is part of the Congress party’s 2024 Lok Sabha election manifesto, Nyay Patra, and aligns with recommendations from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports in its 364th report.