AIADMK's ally PMK hits out at govt, warns of massive quota protest

Those who held the reins of power in Tamil Nadu declined to say anything on people's representations and do not pay heed to their grievances, PMK founder chief S Ramadoss said on his twitter handle.

The demand for 20 percent reservation for Vanniyars was four decades old, Ramadoss said in a Facebook post adding his party's request for exclusive quota was not fulfilled by both previous dispensations and those who were in power now. The Vanniyars, also known as Vanniya Kula Kshatriyas are among the 35 plus castes that fall under the Most Backward Classes in Tamil Nadu and they, alongside the Denotified Communities are provided 20 percent reservation out of the total 69 percent quota.

Northern Tamil Nadu, including Vellore, Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Chengelpet, Tiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram is considered the heartland of the Vanniyars. Ramadoss said in the new year (2021), protest for 20 per cent exclusive reservation for Vanniyars would be started adding the agitation being planned would be on a massive scale and "unseen in history." The massive scale of agitation would prompt the government to request them to call off the protest and sign an agreement for exclusive reservation for Vanniyars, Ramadoss said and urged the youth, women and all others to gear up from now onwards for the protest to retrieve the rights of Vanniyars.

In a statement, the PMK leader lauded the AP government for constituting welfare boards for the development of 56 kinds of backward classes and wanted the model to be replicated in Tamil Nadu for the state's sustained growth. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy fulfilled what he promised and also what he had not committed, he said.

The AP model was the first step towards achieving several demands of his party aimed at social justice, he said. Such longtime demands include caste based census of people in Tamil Nadu, reservation to castes on the basis of their population, identification and implementation of sustained development goals for every caste and an Equal Opportunities Authority for the growth of all communities, he said.

The PMK top leader lamented that both people who had occupied the seat of power previously and those who now governed (DMK and AIADMK) Tamil Nadu were "denying" complete social justice. He accused them of not addressing the lacunae in reservation matrix and for not carrying out caste-wise census.