Will fight Madras HC verdict quashing Vanniyar quota: PMK founder Dr Ramadoss

In a letter addressed to youths from the Vanniyar community, he said: “We have just lost a territory, not the war. We have not been defeated, it has been announced that we have been defeated, that’s all. The Madras High Court verdict is not beyond criticism, there are many holes in this.”

Ramadoss said advocate general R Shanmugasundaram argued in support of reservation and alongside him, the counsel for PMK, Vanniyar Sangam, and other sister organisations answered the queries raised by the bench in a detailed manner.

“If the court had agreed to these arguments and passed a verdict based on that, it would have served as a guide for other cases related to reservation. However, the court took only the arguments of the Tamil Nadu government into consideration and said they have not provided proper answers and quashed the internal reservation. What kind of justice is this?” Ramadoss asked.

The PMK leader said that along with seeking reservation for his own community, he had also fought for the rights of other marginalised groups among Muslims, Arunthahiyars and so on.

Ramadoss further said that he has urged the state government to move an appeal in the Supreme Court against the HC verdict. He added that apart from the legal battle, they will also take this issue forward politically.

“Don’t worry because of the Madras High Court order. It is my duty to fight for Vanniyar Quota restoration. Justice will prevail,” Ramadoss said.

The Madras High Court had called the 10.5% reservation provided to Vanniyars as unconstitutional.

The erstwhile state government led by the AIADMK had piloted the bill providing internal reservation for Vanniyars in February. The government order for its implementation was issued by the ruling DMK in July. In its order, the government split the aggregate 20% reservation for MBCs and Denotified Communities into three separate categories by regrouping castes and provided a 10.5% sub-quota to the Vanniyars, formerly known as Vanniakula Kshatriyas.

(With PTI inputs)