New Delhi, Oct 18 (UNI) The Education Ministers of BJP ruled states today held a meeting at the residence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee along with top BJP leaders to formulate a common stand on the meeting convened by Group of Ministers headed by Defence Minister Pranab Kumar Mukherjee on the contentious reservation issue.

The education ministers from the BJP-ruled states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Bihar, Karnataka and Orissa decided that the states should take a common stand at the meeting, BJP Parliamentary Party Spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Karnataka Education Minister D H Shankaramurthy told UNI after the meeting.

The ministers were unanimous that this Centre should amend the relevant provisions of 93rd Constitutional Amendment which has exempted the educational institutions run by religious and linguistic minorities. These institutions too have a responsibility of helping the less fortunate sections of soceity and the BJP ministers would act in a concerted manner at the meeting, Mr Shankaramurthy said.

The meeting favoured increasing the seats in higher and professional institutions to ensure that the numbers in merit category of students was not decreased. This meeting was held ahead of the meeting where the Centre had circulated a questionnaire seeking their opinions from the states.

The meeting was for reserving the seats for the deserving sections of backward classes like those in the states of Karnataka where the reservation had worked well helping the poor students in both medical and engineering colleges even in unaided institutions.

UNI MCN LL RN2154