Click to play videoNew Delhi: Commerce Minister Kamal Nath is ready to consider legal options to impose quotas in the private sector after top business leaders told a government panel on Wednesday that they don’t want reservations.
Business leaders said they wanted to implement affirmative action policies, like setting up industries in 27 districts with a high population of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and training the underprivileged.
"We have made it clear that we are against quotas. We are against reservation. Any move to impose this through legislation will be unfortunate," said J J Irani, chairman of CII Affirmative Action Council, after the two-hour meeting convened by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
Two senior UPA leaders, Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Minority Affairs minister A R Antulay, have already insisted that the Government make it mandatory for the industry to reserve jobs for the socially underprivileged.
Nath joined them by saying: "The legal option is always open if companies do not fulfill their commitments on affirmative action."
The private sector is ready for affirmative action but "it must look beyond these concerns," he said.
Business leaders, who have to by March 2006 submit a blueprint on affirmative action, agreed to have their targets monitored annually by an ombudsman but wanted that even these should be implemented in steps.
"We have said that the enterprises with employment of more than 400 should be asked to implement the code of conduct and every year this threshold should be brought down," said Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat.
The industry even offered to adopt districts with more than 40 per cent of SC or ST population and undertake activities to promote affirmative action in public private partnership, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Secretary General Amit Mitra said.
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Secretary Ajay Dua said all the chambers of commerce had agreed to fully comply with the affirmative action suggested by them.
He refuted suggestions that government would take punitive action against those not complying with the plan of action and said "no penal action would be taken".
Irani made it clear there were no differences between the government and the industry on the need for affirmative action. "The government, chambers and the industry are on the same side," he said.
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