CHENNAI: CPI state secretary M Veerapandian has urged the Union government to amend the Constitution to protect the reservation rights of Scheduled Caste and Backward Class people even after religious conversion, referring to the recent SC verdict striking down quota for converted Muslims.

In a statement, he criticised the Supreme Court's dismissal of the Tamil Nadu government's appeal on reservation rights of religious converts, saying the ruling that converts to Islam could not claim reservation based on their previous caste identity went against social justice.

Reservation was intended to address social and educational backwardness, not religion, he said, adding that caste discrimination and social exclusion persisted across religions. Conversion alone did not eliminate the disadvantages faced by Scheduled Caste people who embraced Islam or Christianity, he added.

The CPI urged the Union government to ensure that religious converts retained their existing reservation benefits and called on the Tamil Nadu government to initiate appropriate legal action.