Chennai: An all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting the amendment of the constitution for providing 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of the society.
The meeting chaired by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court against its judgment on the same.
Representatives of Congress, PMK, MDMK, CPM, CPI, VCK, MMK, Tamilaga Valvurimai Katchi, Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi were present in the meeting. AIADMK and BJP boycotted the meeting.
The faction of deposed AIADMK leader, O. Panneerselvam also boycotted the meeting.
The resolution stated that the EWS reservation is contrary to the social justice principle prescribed in the Constitution. It also stated that the reservation was also against various Supreme Court judgments.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin addressing the all-party meeting said that if the EWS was implemented this would lead to destruction of the principle of social justice in the state.
He said:
"They would remove socially and educationally backward and add economically in everything. This is why we have opposed the amendment in parliament and voted against it."
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister also said that a nine-member bench of the Supreme Court of India had in 1992 ruled that reservations based on economic considerations were invalid.
He said that the founding fathers of the constitution included Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar did not accept the inclusion of economically backward.
The Chief Minister also questioned the criteria fixed for EWS reservation and asked:
"The reservation criteria for the Economically Weaker Section is fixed at Rs 8 lakh per year. This means that those who are earning Rs 66,000 per month are poor."
Stalin said that this was not reservation for the poor in the forward class but reservation for the forward castes.
The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee backed the resolution rejecting the EWS even as Congress had welcomed it at the national level.
Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister, K. Ponmudi told media persons after the meeting that there was no provision for the state government to file a review petition in the Supreme Court but it would be filed by parties.
The minister also said the Tamil Nadu government would not implement the EWS reservation and instead would implement only the 69 per cent reservation.
K. Ponmudi expressed disappointment at the AIADMK boycotting the all-party meeting of legislative party representatives.
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