COIMBATORE: Irked by the internal reservation of 10.5 per cent given to Vanniyars, the Federation of Kongu Chettiar and Sozhliya Chettiar Associations, an outfit representing four communities, on Sunday announced the boycotting of the upcoming State Assembly election.
During a meeting at Annur, members of the federation, which claims to represent Kongu, Sozhliya, Nilgiri, and Kurugini Chettiars, sought the intervention of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and DMK president MK Stalin in this regard, failing which they decided not to cast their votes. The federation claimed that 40,000 people belonging to the castes were living in Annur taluk.
Speaking to TNIE, K Babu Padmanaban, coordinator of the association, said that the internal reservation provided to Vanniyars was “unacceptable.” “Out of 41 castes in the MBC category, the State government has given the quota to Vanniyar community alone to improve its vote bank in the upcoming elections. Meanwhile, people from the other 40 castes would be affected.” He added that the association would soon file a case in the Madras High Court against the move.