About 45 community leaders backed by PMK founder Dr S Ramdoss on Saturday hit out at the Dravidian parties stating that they are splitting the people on the communal basis for votes and sought amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
This is the first such interaction by Ramadoss after a five-month hiatus during which he underwent incarceration and his health deteriorated. Although the PMK leader did not address the media, he put the ball on All Community forum convenors P T Arasa Kumar and G K Nagaraj.
The forum passed five resolutions. These include amendments to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act, slamming love marriages and demanding any such marriage be conducted after the consent of the parents, removal of prohibitory orders to observe Thevar Jayanti besides retrieval of Katchatheevu.
The forum had participation from Thevar, Nadar, Kongu Vellalar, Yadava, Mudaliar, Wodeyar and many other communities.
The leaders from the communities claimed that they are not anti-dalits when reporters questioned about the absence of any dalit leader.
The community leaders hit out at the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and demanded amendments to it. “About 98.6 per cent complaints are false. Action should be taken against those filing a false complaint,” the meeting decided.
‘MK Diluted Quota’
The then DMK government under Chief Minister M Karunanidhi diluted the reservation quota for Scheduled Castes in the state without getting parliamentary approval, said scheduled caste community leaders.
Dr Nagore Kani, founder of Scheduled Caste Reservation Protection Movement, told Express that Karunanidhi provided three per cent quota to the Arundhatiyars in the 18 per cent reservation for scheduled castes and diluted the quota system.
Not only that, Government Orders 50, 61 and 65 were also passed recognizing the 3 per cent quota for scheduled Caste Arunthathiyar (SCA), said Kani.
“On one hand, only six per cent of the 18 per cent reservation quota for dalits is implemented and now with another three per cent taken over unconstitutionally, the dalits have three per cent reservation,” rued Kani.