Puthiya Tamilagam party president K. Krishnasamy on Sunday urged the State government to conduct a caste-based census among Scheduled Castes (SC) communities to ensure fairer implementation of reservation policies.
He told presspersons in Tiruchi that while former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had introduced 3% reservation for the Arundathiyars, which benefited “primarily non-Tamil speaking Arundathiyars”, the Devendrakula Vellalars and other Scheduled Castes from Tamil Nadu did not get such advantages.
Citing the Supreme Court’s endorsement of internal reservation, he urged the government to conduct a caste census among the 70-odd sub-castes of the Scheduled Castes. To press for these demands, the party planned a rally, a protest, and a public meeting in Tiruchi on May 17.
Mr. Krishnasamy accused the DMK government of failing to honour key election promises, including scrapping of NEET, rolling back the new pension scheme, reducing property tax, and providing cooking gas subsidy. He criticised the State Budget as election-centric and raised concerns over the increasing debt burden.
He criticised the DMK’s opposition to the three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP) saying that many party leaders send their children to schools following the same system while opposing it politically. He accused the ruling party of selective opposition to NEP for electoral gains.
Published – March 16, 2025 08:57 pm IST