DMK president MK Stalin on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate steps to fully implement 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in jobs and education and lift the creamy layer income ceiling for reservation.
Stalin unveils portraits of deceased DMK legislators KP Samy and S Kathavarayan
Chennai:
Expressing utmost shock at the ruling BJP working hard to somehow eliminate 27 per cent reservation for OBCs which was won after hard battle after “savior of social justice” VP Singh took over as Prime Minister of India, Stalin said, “PM Narendra Modi who projects himself as the sole representative of OBCs should take steps to fully implement 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in education and jobs in central establishments and scrap the creamy layer income ceiling.” “OBCs in the country, including Tamil Nadu will not remain mute spectators to BJP regime’s unjust assault on reservation despite the National OBC Commission clearly recommending in 2015 that creamy layer was a deterrent to the OBCs securing the benefits of 27 per cent reservation,” said Stalin, in a statement issued in this regard.
He also remarked that the ruling BJP, which has been undermining the Constitutionally guaranteed reservation for OBCs by not allotting even half of the 27 per cent quota guaranteed to them in medical education, has hit the very heart of reservation principle by proposing to include net salary in assessing creamy layer.
Describing the Mandal Commission report as ticket to progress for OBCs and Supreme Court verdict upholding OBC reservation as beacon of hope, the DMK president who is also the Leader of Opposition of Tamil Nadu State Assembly, said the DMK would not accept a hurdle like creamy layer to keep OBCs out of the ambit of reservation.
Referring to the official memorandum of the Centre of 1993 which clearly stated that the creamy layer income ceiling should be increased every three years or even less, Stalin said the creamy layer ceiling should have been increased nine times, but it has only been increased four times, which is a great injustice to the OBCs.
Recalling the suggestions of the National OBC Commission and Parliamentary Committee on OBC welfare, which had unanimously recommended Rs 15 lakh and 20 lakh, respectively, as creamy layer income ceiling for OBCs in 2015, Stalin said the BJP regime’s proposal to calculate creamy layer income ceiling by taking the net salary in to account was unconstitutional and against social justice.