CHENNAI: In an indication that the ruling DMK is ready to face the 2026 Assembly election without gesturing any assurances or action towards fulfilling the demand for 10.5 % reservation for Vanniyars by the PMK, the government has extended the time limit given to the Backward Classes Commission (BCC) by another one year till July 2026 to submit its report on the matter.
This is the fifth extension being given to the BCC for examining the demand for internal reservation within the Most Backward Classes (MBCs) and Denotified Communities (DNCs) and submit a report.
The previous deadline of July 12, 2025 was extended till July 12, 2026 through a government order on Wednesday.
The examination of the demand for internal reservation and submission of a report was added as an additional term of reference (ToR) in January 2023 to the present BCC, which was constituted in November 2022 with a set of six terms of reference.
Interestingly, the three-year term of the BCC, headed by Justice V Bharathidasan, retired judge of the Madras High Court, is ending by November. The government is likely to extend its term. When the BCC was tasked with studying the demand for internal reservation in January 2023, it was asked to submit its report in three months.
However, the government has since extended the time limit four times over the past 2.5 years, citing that the commission requested extensions due to lack of quantifiable data of all communities included in the MBC and DNC lists.
The latest extension was also sought for the same reason. The GO issued on Wednesday said the chairman of the BCC had said that “in the absence of quantifiable data of all the communities”, the Commission may not be able to complete the task.
The additional ToR was given in the backdrop of the Supreme Court, primarily citing lack of adequate data to demonstrate the need for such a reservation, struck down the 10.5 % reservations provided to Vanniyars within the MBC category in haste by the previous AIADMK government ahead of the 2021 election.
PMK, for which the 10.5% reservation has become the main rallying point, has repeatedly demanded the state government to conduct a caste census instead of citing lack of data as an excuse.
The government has maintained that the caste census will have validity only if it is done by the union government.
‘Lack data to complete task’
The GO issued on Wednesday said the chairman of the BCC had said that “in the absence of quantifiable data of all the communities”, the Commission may not be able to complete the task