CHENNAI: The Madras High Court’s quashing of the 10.5 per cent reservation for the Vanniyar community has put the DMK as well as the AIADMK in a spot since the issue is likely to be among the important topics for the campaign for the elections to urban local bodies, which are to be notified in a month.
Also, the verdict has turned the focus on conducting a caste census in the State. The term of the Commission headed by retired Judge A Kulasekaran appointed for this purpose was not extended by the present government.
PMK founder S Ramadoss, in an open letter to party cadre, said though the verdict came as a shock, the party would continue its legal fight since the verdict has many deficiencies. He said when the State government challenges this verdict in the Supreme Court, the PMK would implead in that case and take steps to win 10.5 reservation for Vanniyars. He added that the party won’t rest until the reservation is restored.
Though the Advocate General indicated that the State government would appeal against the verdict, senior DMK leaders have said nothing about the development. AIADMK leaders too, who were instrumental in bringing in a legislation providing reservation for the Vanniyar community, are tight-lipped.
When asked about the silence, an AIADMK leader told TNIE: “The party top brass will express their views soon. But as far as the AIADMK is concerned, we did our part well. We brought in the legislation and notified it. Now it is the DMK government’s duty to safeguard it.”
Questioned whether the AIADMK was treating the verdict as a setback for the party, the leader said, “Not at all. The DMK government failed to safeguard what the AIADMK government did. Had the DMK government argued the case well quoting previous verdicts, there would be no need to appeal now.”
Political analyst Tharasu Shyam believes the issue could prove to be a setback to the AIADMK during the elections to urban local bodies since the verdict questioned the Constitutional validity of the legislation providing 10.5 per cent reservation for Vanniyars. On the contrary, the DMK has just moved forward with implementing the reservation, and the government is now ready to challenge the HC verdict. So, the present verdict would not affect the DMK. If the Supreme Court refers the case to a Constitution Bench and orders that status quo be maintained, it would be construed as a big victory for the DMK, he said.
“The verdict will be seen as a personal setback for AIADMK joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami, who took last-minute efforts to pass the legislation. Also, the silence of both DMK and AIADMK leaders shows they think it is a double-edged sword,” Shyam added.