Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) general secretary and Villupuram MP D. Ravikumar on Tuesday said that 26 castes listed in the Backward Class lists and the Denotified Communities list in Tamil Nadu have been left out in the Union government’s Other Backward Castes list.
He urged the State government to ensure that their right to reservation is protected by getting these castes included in the OBC list.
In a letter to the State Backward Classes Welfare Minister S.S. Sivasankar, Mr. Ravikumar pointed out that a number of castes listed in the Backward Caste list and the DNC list are missing in the Central OBC list.
“Servai, Ansar, Ayira Vaisyar, Chaudhury, Kallar Kula Thondaman, Kannadinaidu, Karpoora Chettiar, Kasukkara Chettiar, Kongu Vaishnava, Kudikara Vellalar, Kuka Vellalar, Moondru Mandala 84 Oor Sozhiya Vellalar, Ootru Vala Naattu Velalar, OPS Vellalar, Paiyyur Koatta velalar, Kaththi Kaarar (Kanniyakumari district), Podikara Velalar, Pooluva Gounder, Reddy (Kanjam) Sheikh, Sundaram Chetty, Syed, Ukkirakula Kshathriya Nayakkar, Urikkara Nayakkar and Velar in the Backward Caste list and Servai (Tiruchi, Karur, Perambalur, Pudukottai districts) listed in the DNC list are missing from the Union government’s OBC list,” he said.
Mr. Ravikumar said the candidates from these communities were competing in the general category for places in the Central government-run educational institutions. “This has created a situation where they are losing their right to reservations. Hundreds of students in Tamil Nadu are affected,” he said.
Citing the example of Amrithavarshini, who belongs to Ayira Vaisyar community and had applied for a fashion technology course, Mr. Ravikumar said, “Aayira Vaisiyar is listed in Tamil Nadu’s Backward Class list. However, it is not featured in the Union government’s list. If it had been in the Union government’s OBC list, she would have secured 1,991 rank in the list. But, now, she has secured 10,528 in the rank list and has lost the chance to join the course.”
