Tamil Nadu calls all-party meet to chart course of EWS quota fight

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government decided on Tuesday to convene a meeting of all legislature parties, to be chaired by chief minister MK Stalin, on November 12 to discuss the future course of action on the Supreme Court verdict upholding the validity of the constitutional amendment that provides a 10% quota for economically weaker sections among the forward castes.
DMK general secretary Duraimurugan said the party would move the apex court with a review petition challenging the verdict.
A government press release said the reservation for EWS was against the principle of social justice. “Chief minister M K Stalin has sent a letter to legislature party leaders to give suggestions on the future course of action to be taken. Two representatives from each party have been invited to attend the meeting,” the release said. The meeting will be held at Namakkal Kavignar Maligai in the secretariat at 10.30 am.
Duraimurugan said the review petition would be filed to protect social justice for the 82% SCs/STs and OBCs in the country, to safeguard the basic structure of the Constitution.
While AIADMK interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami maintained silence for the second day after the verdict, former CM O Panneerselvam said the state government should appeal.AIADMK had opposed the bill and walked out of both Houses of Parliament when the bill was introduced in January 2019.
In the Rajya Sabha, MP A Navaneethakrishnan had said that the 10% EWS quota was without quantifiable data and in violation of the basic structure of the Constitution. AIADMK Lok Sabha MP M Thambidurai had said that an EWS quota for the general category would only create confusion, lead to corruption.
TNCC chief KS Alagiri said that reservation did not belong to any section but to humanity and, therefore, the party wholeheartedly welcomed it.The Congress-led UPA government had attempted to introduce an EWS quota in 2005-06, and even got a bill ready in 2014, while the BJP government took five years, he said.
CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan said the party had already supported the bill when it was introduced in Parliament. “We see the constitutional amendment as that of one for the poor and labourers,” he said. TMC leader G K Vasan welcomed the verdict.
MNM vice-president A G Mourya said the crusade for social justice would have to be strengthened. He said reservation was not a poverty alleviation programme.
Policy of reservation was won after years of struggle to prioritise those who were denied education and subjected to inequalities in education and employment.
It was ridiculous to provide reservation instead of implementing welfare schemes to upgrade the lives of the economically weaker sections, Mourya said.