CHENNAI: DMK party organ Murasoli on Tuesday published an article about the possible adverse effect of the proposed 10.5% reservation to Vanniyars, and strongly extended support to the existing 20% reservation of MBC, to which the community belongs.
The article appeared just 10 days after Chief Minister MK Stalin’s assurance on implementing a 10.5% quota to the community in the Assembly. Speaking to TNIE, P Kalyanam, a member of the DMK high-level committee, said,
“As per the law, reservation could be provided only for classes and not any particular caste. Now, the Vanniyar community in the northern districts and denotified communities in the south have been enjoying the benefits of MBC. Except for both communities, the other communities belonging to MBC are very few.”
Dharmapuri MP S Senthilkumar told TNIE, “Vanniyars now have a chance to compete under the 20% reservation for MBCs. It would give them a bigger chance of getting more seats in education and others. If the quota is reduced to 10.5%, it would affect their prospects.”
Some second-level leaders of the DMK, belonging to the Vanniyar community, added most of the Vanniyars live on the stretch from the north to the central part of the state. In southern districts, Vanniyars are very less even to fill the 10.5% reservation in educational institutions.