The former Prime Minister, V.P. Singh, today called for a mass movement to secure a greater share for Backward Classes and Dalits in the political power structure and in education.

Asserting that implementation of the Mandal Commission report by his Government in 1990 was not only to provide employment but also to empower the oppressed, he said these sections did not hold even five per cent of pivotal positions in the power structure.

Mr. Singh, who was speaking at a meeting organised by the Republican Party of India to mark 100 years of reservations, first implemented in Kolhapur State by Maharaja Sahuji on July 26, 1902, said there was a need for a second revolution against the caste system in which even the poor among the upper castes should join. "It is no longer a question of `jaat' (caste) but of `jamaat' (society)," he added.

He said the weaker sections should be allowed to run private educational institutions with 50 per cent of the seats reserved for them on the lines of the minority institutions since education held the key to power. The Constitution mandated that the Government must strive to eradicate social and educational backwardness, he pointed out.

Mr. Singh took exception to the present system of including even those BC candidates who secured a Government job or a seat in a professional college on merit in the 27 per cent reserved category. Describing this as patently unjust, he offered to support any movement against the Union Public Service Commission but turned down a plea by Konda Lakshman Bapuji, a freedom fighter, to lead a forum of like-minded national leaders.

Defending the Mandal report, he said his action was dubbed as "a political stunt" and "a humbug" then but "every leader seems to be bitten by the same bug now". "If indeed it was a stunt, how did the Judges uphold the Government's decision", he asked.

He said he was portrayed as the devil incarnate by the media, especially in the North, misleading the youth and causing needless loss of lives. While he was deeply anguished over these deaths, he was equally disturbed by the plight of the youth belonging to weaker sections. "Although I broke my leg while kicking the football, I had the satisfaction of scoring a goal,'' he said referring to the fall of his Government.