'Our demand to govt is to implement Article 15(5)': Congress MP Jairam Ramesh

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has called for legislation to implement Article 15(5) of the Constitution in private educational institutions, emphasizing the need for reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and backward classes.
Speaking in New Delhi on March 31, Ramesh highlighted that this constitutional amendment, introduced during the Manmohan Singh government in 2006, enables reservations in both government and private educational institutions.

Ramesh described the 2006 amendment as revolutionary, explaining its significance for providing educational opportunities to underprivileged communities.
"The country should know that the Constitution was amended in 2006, when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister and Arjun Singh was the Education Minister and Article 15(5) was added to our Constitution which means that in educational institutions, whether government institutions or private institutions, reservation can be given to youth from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward classes. This was a revolutionary amendment," Ramesh told ANI.
The Congress MP noted that during their government's tenure, they implemented these reservations in government institutions, including Delhi University, IITs, and IIMs.
"In the first phase, we did it in government educational institutions, Delhi University, IITs, IIMs. In January 2014, the Supreme Court unanimously said that the amendment made in the Constitution, Article 15(5), is not against the basic structure of our Constitution. Then elections were held. PM Modi's government came, 11 years have passed, but it has been completely ignored. Our demand to the government is to implement Article 15(5)," Ramesh stated.
The Constitution's Article 15(5), introduced through the 93rd Amendment Act in 2005, specifically allows for special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes in educational institutions, including private ones.
In his statement, Ramesh quoted the exact constitutional amendment: "Nothing in this article or sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of Article 19 shall prevent any special provision, by law, for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes insofar as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of Article 30."
Ramesh pointed out that the Supreme Court has validated Article 15(5) through multiple landmark judgments, including cases such as 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).
The Congress party has included this commitment in their 2024 Lok Sabha election manifesto, "Nyay Patra." The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports has also supported this stance in its 364th report, recommending new legislation to implement Article 15(5).
The article specifically exempts minority educational institutions from these provisions while allowing the state to make special provisions for advancement and development of these communities in both government and private educational institutions, regardless of whether they receive aid from the state.