Team Goemkarponn
VASCO: Congress OBC chairman Nitin Chopdekar on Friday expressed serious concern over the continued delay in implementing the 100% roster-based reservation policy for OBC, ST, and SC categories in the Goa Medical College (GMC) postgraduate admissions.
Addressing a press conference in Vasco, Chopdekar said the State government has been dragging its feet despite repeated assurances and High Court directions. “The government has had five years to implement the reservation policy for backward classes in GMC’s PG courses. Every passing year without action is a denial of constitutional rights to OBC, ST, and SC students,” he said.
Chopdekar recalled that following a petition by the Gomantak Bhandari Samaj, the Advocate General had informed the High Court in March 2020 that 41% reservation (OBC 27%, ST 12%, SC 2%) would be implemented in PG medical courses from 2021–22. Subsequently, the Public Health Department had directed the Dean of GMC on May 4, 2020, to put the decision into effect.
However, the policy was later challenged by 110 parents and students, prompting the High Court on October 11, 2021, to set it aside on technical grounds — citing the absence of amendments to the original counseling and merit rules.
“The government used this court order as an excuse to delay justice,” Chopdekar alleged. “Instead of fixing the technical flaws and re-notifying the policy, they went a step further and reserved all clinical seats for the General Category through a controversial Cabinet decision in 2023. That decision was anti-social, anti-reservation, and unconstitutional.”
The Goa government had approved and notified a new policy in August 2023, which effectively deprived OBC, ST, and SC students of their rightful share in postgraduate medical seats.
Chopdekar pointed out that on October 31, 2025, the Dean of GMC had already submitted the revised Rules and Roster to the government for approval. “Now it’s up to the Cabinet to approve and notify them before November 10, the final date for submission of certificates by PG aspirants,” he said.
“If the process is delayed even by a few days, GMC will be forced to conduct counseling under MCI guidelines by November 15, and that will once again deprive hundreds of students from OBC, ST, SC, and EWS categories of their rightful reservation,” he warned.
Chopdekar also referred to the landmark Madras High Court judgment and the Prime Minister’s intervention in 2021, which led to the implementation of OBC reservations across India in the All India Quota for MBBS and PG Medical courses. “Every other state in the country has implemented OBC reservation in medical education. It’s only in Goa that the students under the State Quota are still waiting for justice,” he said.
The Congress OBC chairman accused the government of showing “utter insensitivity” towards backward communities. “This government talks about empowerment, but on the ground it is ensuring exclusion. Our students are being denied opportunities that are rightfully theirs,” he remarked.
Chopdekar urged the Chief Minister and the Health Minister to take immediate action. “The Cabinet must approve the revised rules and roster without any further delay. Justice delayed is justice denied. If the government fails to act, we will not hesitate to launch a state-wide agitation and approach the court again,” he cautioned.
He added that the Congress OBC wing would soon meet the Chief Secretary and submit a memorandum demanding immediate notification of the reservation policy.
“This is not just about numbers; it’s about representation and fairness,” Chopdekar said. “Goa cannot continue to deny what every other state in India has already implemented. The backward communities of Goa are watching — and they will remember who stood for them and who didn’t.”
