Quota: 2 Knowledge Commission members quit

NEW DELHI: In an embarrassment to the government embroiled in the row over reservations, two leading members of the National Knowledge Commission set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday  resigned from their posts, protesting quotas in central educational institutions.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Andre Beteille said they had quit the Commission whose views on reservation had come under attack from HRD Minister Arjun Singh.

"Many of the recent announcements made by your government with respect to Higher Education leads me to the conclusion that my continuation on the Commission will serve no useful purpose," Mehta said in a resignation letter addressed to the Prime Minister.

When contacted by PTI, Beteille, a professor emeritus of Sociology, said "I have submitted by resignation this morning."

Mehta and Beteille were among the six members who opposed reservation proposals at a meeting of the Commission in Bangalore recently.