Counselling for MBBS seats put off; Bedi reacts

Counsellingfor admission to MBBS courses under management quota in three private colleges here was put off today, prompting Lt Governor Kiran Bedi to fault the government over the issue.
Citing representations from the self-financing private medical colleges and the Parents Association, the government, postponed the counselling fixed for today without fixing any fresh date, which it said would be announced soon.
An official release said the Centralised Admission Committee, constituted by the government to conduct counselling, had postponed the counselling, but did not elaborate onthe contents of representations.
Bedi, who had personnaly intevened during the process of counselling for government quota seats recently, drawing the ire of the ruling Congress, was quick to react to the postponement.

In a WhatsApp message to reporters, she said that instead of postponing counselling, the government should have brought in legislation as in Tamil Nadu and ensured at least 50 per cent of seatsfor studentsof the Union Territory, as per notification issued some months ago.
"But they (the government) had settled for only 36.6 per cent of seats in medical colleges for Puducherry students, thereby causing a loss (of seats) to local students,"she said.

Bedi also said that if government had done so,it would have considerably covered the loss of seats because now seats coming underthe deemed universities are a part ofthe national merit pool and have already been substantially allotted as per the website update.

The former IPS officer, who has been at loggerheads with the government on several issues, also said Puducherry would get only left over seats and passed on to state quota only if there are no other takers from outside Puducherry.
Counselling for admission of students by CENTAC under government quota in the three colleges had been completed in two phases on Saturday and Sunday last.
Bedi had personnaly intevened during the process of counselling for government quota seats recently, drawing the ire of the ruling Congress.