CHENNAI: PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister MK Stalin, accusing him of betraying the Vanniyar community by failing to provide the promised 10.5% internal reservation despite the Supreme Court’s go-ahead based on a caste-census.
Ramadoss’s criticism comes in response to Stalin questioning PMK aligning with the BJP. He said Stalin has no authority to discuss social justice with PMK.
In his press statement, Ramadoss recalled he had successfully managed to make the former Congress-led central government implement 27% reservation for OBC candidates in the union government’s higher education institutions. “Likewise, I will work towards social justice with the BJP-led government,” he said.
He further asked Stalin if the DMK has assured to fulfil the poll promises of its allies. As far as the PMK is concerned, he said, a common minimum programme will be developed to include the poll promises of the allies and the central government will act on that basis. He further recalled how the PMK’s demand of 27% reservation was included in the common minimum programme of the UPA-1 in 2004 when PMK was one of its alliance partners.
He further expressed his optimism that the PMK has the same commitment towards its other demands to ensure social justice by implementing the caste census and recommendations of the Rohini Commission, which was constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide compartmental reservation to the OBC categories that are not benefitted. He further said DMK did nothing to implement the 27% reservation to OBC categories in education and employment in the central government institutions.
Reiterating the DMK is partial against the Vanniyar community, Dr Ramadoss said if Stalin had wished to provide reservation to the Vanniyar community it would have been done. He first should conduct a caste census in the state and provide separate reservation to the Vanniyar community before speaking about social justice, he added.