CM’s statement on quota angers NSS

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s reported statement at a meeting with Hindu community leaders on Tuesday that the government is for continuation of the present reservation scheme appears to have angered the Nair Service Society (NSS) leadership.

“News reports have quoted the Chief Minister as having said at a meeting of Hindu community leaders on Tuesday that the government is for continuation of the present reservation scheme, that it will examine whether the reservation communities are getting the benefits of reservation in the right measure and without delay, and that the government believes that a Constitution amendment is necessary to grant reservation for the poor among the forward communities...’’

“The government should clarify whether the Chief Minister’s present statement applied to the 10% reservation in Devaswom board appointments as well. If a Constitution amendment is necessary to facilitate reservation of 10% posts in Devaswom boards to the poor in the forward communities, legal options will have to be explored,” NSS general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair said in a statement here on Wednesday.

Mr. Sukumaran Nair pointed out that though the decision to grant 10% reservation in Devaswom board recruitment was taken on November 15, 2017, the government had done nothing to take its decision forward. While announcing the Cabinet decision, the government had also made it known that it would take steps to ensure reservation of a specific percentage of posts in the State government service for the financially weaker forward community members and that it would exert pressure on the Centre to amend the Constitution to facilitate this.

Although there was opposition to the government stand from certain quarters at the time, the Chief Minister himself and others concerned had stated that they would press ahead with their stand. The government should now come clean on its real stand on granting 10% reservation to the financially weaker sections among Hindus in Devaswom board recruitment and on the larger question of amending the Constitution to provide reservation to the forward communities, the NSS general secretary said.