VILLUPURAM: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss said on Tuesday that the party has been fighting for social justice for the past 55 years. He made this remark during an event commemorating the birth anniversary of Dravidian leader Periyar.
Anbumani and party founder S Ramadoss paid homage to the Periyar statue at the party’s office in Thailapuram. They also paid respects to the martyrs who participated in the reservation protests.
Speaking to the reporters, Anbumani said, “Our party has fully adhered to Periyar’s principles, unlike others who only use his ideas in speeches. Ramadoss has been fighting for the oppressed, the cheated, and the Scheduled Caste people to secure their rights.”
He criticised the ruling party, saying, “The ruling party uses the name of Periyar but commits social injustices. The Chief Minister is not interested in understanding the status of people from different communities. A caste-based census is essential, and PMK has been advocating for it for the past 45 years. The Chief Minister falsely claims that the state doesn’t have the authority to conduct such a census, while courts have approved it in Bihar. Similar censuses are being conducted in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and Jharkhand.”
Anbumani said, “After the 1987 protest, 115 communities were granted reservation, with 20.8% of the population coming from these communities. Among them, 14.1% are Vanniyars, yet they have not been given priority.”
“If Karunanidhi were still in power, he would have conducted the census and secured reservations for the Vanniyars. The CM should announce the caste-based census during Periyar’s birthday celebrations,” he added.