PMK youthwing leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday met with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to reiterate his party’s demand for a separate 20% reservation for Vanniyars in higher education and government jobs.
The protests by the PMK earlier during the day saw cadres blocking roads and damaging public property by pelting stones at trains in several places.
Speaking to the reporters at the Secretariat, Dr. Anbumani said PMK and Vanniyar Sangam had reiterated the demand in a joint general body and announced protests demanding separate reservations.
“We organised protests in Chennai today. Our cadres were stopped by police but we have reiterated that the cadres should remain calm. When the protests were happening, the Chief Minister had invited us and we explained our demands. Deputy Chief Minister was also there. We said that this is not a caste issue. This is not a protest against a political party, organisation or any other community. This is a social justice issue and developmental issue,” he claimed.
Dr. Anbumani contended that while one in four person in Tamil Nadu is a Vanniyar, they have fallen behind in terms of education and jobs.
“They are in agriculture, they are laying roads and working as masons and living in huts. They are socially backward. There are no industries in regions where there is no development and no jobs. They are forced to migrate for jobs,” he said. Dr. Anbumani said that CM had promised to look into the demands.
Dr. Anbumani insinuated that sections of the media was seeking to portray that the Vanniyar community is violent.
“Don’t create a perception that this community is violent. This is an agricultural community and innocent. This is a 40-year-old issue. We met former Chief Ministers: MGR, Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) Jayalalithaa and now we have met Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami too. We haven’t received justice. We are against violence,” he said.
He accused the police of preventing the cadres and detaining them without food and water. “Our intention is to protest peacefully. You cannot blame the community for the actions of someone,” he said.
