Anbumani to lead stir against DMK over caste survey

CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday accused the Tamil Nadu government of “stonewalling social justice” by refusing to conduct a caste-wise population survey, even as several other states have completed or initiated similar exercises.

Announcing a statewide agitation over the issue, he said the PMK would hold a protest in Chennai on December 17 to condemn the DMK government’s stance.

The PMK will organise a protest near Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore on December 17, followed by a Statewide “siege of government offices” on January 29, 2026, Anbumani said.

He added that he would lead the Chennai protest and urged political parties, social organisations and the public to participate in large numbers. In a statement, he noted that Bihar, Telangana, Odisha and Karnataka had undertaken caste surveys in recent years, with Karnataka completing its second such exercise.

He said these states were using the data to enhance reservation quota, provide loans for self-employment and implement targeted welfare schemes. The Union government too had announced plans to conduct a caste-based census by March 2027, he added.

Against this backdrop, he said that Tamil Nadu, which has long positioned itself as a pioneer in social justice, should have been the first to conduct a caste survey. He argued that Tamil Nadu urgently needs updated caste data to defend its 69 per cent reservation in the Supreme Court, where the matter could be heard any time.

Refuting the DMK’s claim that the State lacks authority to conduct such an exercise, he said the 2008 Statistics Act empowers states to undertake caste surveys. Courts in Karnataka, Bihar and even the Supreme Court had upheld this position, he said, pointing out that states had already expanded welfare measures based on such data.