CHENNAI: Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu on Monday demanded that the AIADMK government take immediate steps to implement 50 per cent quota in medical seats surrendered by the state in all India quota (AIQ) after the Supreme Court rejected an interim plea for enforcing it from 2020-21.
DMK chief MK Stalin said the top court's ruling was a disappointment and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure 50 per cent quota implementation from the current academic year itself.
Hitting out at the state government and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, he said the latter must exert political pressure on Modi for getting in place the reservation immediately without enacting a 'drama' like guarding social justice.
Also, the DMK leader asked Palaniswami to announce that "there will be no question of any electoral alliance with the BJP if reservation is not provided this year itself."
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president KS Alagiri alleged that the stand taken by the BJP-led Centre and the AIADMK's 'negligent' handling of the matter in the apex court led to the "betrayal" of backward students.
CPI State Secretary R Mutharasan said the court's judgment has shattered the belief of students belonging to Other Backward Classes that they would get reservation. He accused the Centre of betraying the cause of social justice and wanted 'democratic forces' to rally against "the injustice".
The PMK, an ally of AIADMK, said the court verdict was very disappointing and wanted the Centre to come forward to immediately implement the reservation for OBCs. "This is possible," party founder leader S Ramadoss said adding it would be a doable task if the Centre is determined.
He also urged Palaniswami to lead a delegation of leaders of all parties in Tamil Nadu to meet Modi and urge him to put in place the quota for medical courses.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the interim plea of Tamil Nadu and the AIADMK for grant of 50 per cent quota in medical seats surrendered by the state in all India reservation for undergraduate, postgraduate and dental courses for the 2020-21 academic year.
A three-member bench dismissed the interim prayer on the petition challenging the July 27 Madras High Court order on the limited point by which it had cleared the decks for OBC reservation under AIQ medical seats in non-central institutions and gave the Centre three months' time to take a decision on the percentage.
The state government and the ruling AIADMK in their limited point had sought relief saying that the high court had not specified that the OBC quota should be implemented in the current academic year itself.