CHENNAI: PMK president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday wrote a letter to all political parties, except DMK, and social organisations to participate in the party’s protest in Chennai on December 17. The demonstration will press for the immediate conduct of a caste-based survey to identify the population and socio-economic status of every caste in Tamil Nadu, he said, calling the exercise essential for ensuring equitable welfare planning.
In a letter to leaders, Anbumani said the exercise was an “X-ray tool” essential to understanding the conditions of different communities. He warned that Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation policy has been under constant threat for the past 15 years owing to the absence of such an exercise.
Recalling a 2010 Supreme Court verdict, he said the court had upheld the 69% reservation but directed the state to conduct a caste census within a year to determine the justification for the quantum of quota. However, successive governments failed to do so, leading to fresh petitions filed in 2012 challenging the reservation ceiling, Anbumani said.