KOTTAYAM: Making its political stance clear in the run-up to the Pala byelection, the Nair Service Society (NSS) has come down heavily on the ruling LDF, alleging the CPM-led Government has totally disregarded the forward castes. At the same time, the NSS patted the previous UDF Government for taking some decisions favourable to the forward castes.
With barely a week left before Pala heads to the by-poll, the NSS has given an indirect political direction to its community members in an editorial published in the latest edition of its mouthpiece ‘Service’. While the article mentions the 10 per cent reservation implemented by the Centre for the financially backward among the forward communities in education and jobs, it launched a scathing attack on the LDF govt. The write-up alleged that the LDF government is trying to sabotage all the decisions of the previous UDF government, which were favourable to forward communities.
According to the NSS, the Kerala State Welfare Corporation for Forward Communities, which was constituted during the tenure of the previous government, has almost become defunct as the LDF Government denied funds needed for its functioning. Though the financial assistance for education had been raised to `1 lakh for the forward communities by the UDF Government based on a recommendation from the Kumara Pillai Commission, the incumbent administration has denied this benefit to those receiving admissions in the aided colleges under community merit and management quotas.
Similarly, the previous govt had constituted Devaswom Recruitment Board with 32 per cent reservation for backward communities and the rest in the general category after the government’s efforts to provide 18 per cent reservation to non-reservation communities failed to materialise.
Though the present government announced 10 per cent reservation to non-reservation communities on the basis of financial status as part of rectifying the anomaly, the government has not framed rules or implemented the decision even after a year.
Despite the Kerala State Commission for Economically Backward Classes among Forward Communities submitting its report on March 19, 2019, it has not seen the light yet. Neither has it initiated any steps to ensure efficient operation of the present Commission.
Not mincing words
At the same time, the NSS patted the previous UDF Government for taking some decisions favourable to the forward castes. Coming as it does a week before the bypoll, this may well prove the swing factor, the first time in over 50 years that Pala is going to the polls minus K M Mani