Bangalore: JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav on Saturday accused the Congress of "not coming out categorically" with a legislation on reservation in elite educational institutions.
The Parliament had already given a mandate to the government to either bring in a legislation or amend the Constitution, he said.
"There is a political consensus on this policy of reservation and no political party is against it," he said.
The JD(U) leader claimed that the government was duty-bound to provide reservation to OBC students in its educational institutions, including the IIMs and IITs.
Noting that the Constitution had been amended to provide reservation in private educational institutions, Yadav said he wanted to know how the government could "deny reservation in
its own institutes."
Yadav claimed that hardly 7,000 students get admission in the institutes and seats reserved for OBCs would not number more than 2,000.
"I understand the heartburn of students belonging to unreserved categories. They are against this because it is restricting their opportunities for admission," he said.
Yadav, however, blamed the government for the situation, saying that no new IIT had been established for many years.
"The same is the case with IIMs and central government medical institutions," he said.
Yadav reiterated his demand for the dismissal of Union Minister for Science and Technology, Kapil Sibal for repeatedly speaking against the proposed reservation in central educational institutes.
He said Sibal should resign for "violating" the principle of collective responsibility.
"Sibal was present in the Cabinet meeting which approved the draft constitutional amendment bill," Yadav said.
"By talking against the reservations to OBC in central educational institutions, he has talked against the same Constitution under whose oath he is a minister," he said.
The JD(U) chief said that by sacking Sibal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should set an example that "nobody can breach the Constitution."
"It is shameful that a country, where youth do not have adequate facilities for good education, spent Rs 29 crore on Commonwealth Games for just 10 minutes of entertainment," Yadav said.
Pointing out that Rs 10,000 crore would be spent on the Commonwealth Games when New Delhi hosts it in 2010, the JD(U) leader asked why "this money (is) not being spent on opening new IITs, IIMs and medical institutions like AIIMs."
"The government should stop wasteful expenditure and divert them to the opening of new institutions and create an atmosphere where students of non-reserved categories do not lose opportunities in case of expansion of reservation," Yadav said.
According to the JD(U) leader, the results of the ongoing assembly elections would affect the UPA government at the Centre "if the results are in favour of Left parties."
Yadav denied that he was aiming at a Third Front by trying to unify the Janata Dal parivar.
"Mulayam Singh Yadav is busy with the Third Front. I am not busy with the Third Front. We are in NDA," he said.
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