Our party was the first to file a petition against the quota in the Supreme Court when it was announced, says the DMK organisation secretary
Our party was the first to file a petition against the quota in the Supreme Court when it was announced, says the DMK organisation secretary
Pointing out the DMK was the first to file a petition against the reservation for the economically weaker sections in the Supreme Court when it was announced, the party’s organisation secretary, R.S. Bharathi, hoped on Friday that the review petition to be filed by his party would help to get a stay on the quota, which was upheld by the court on November 7.
“Our leader and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin decided to file a petition against the reservation for the economically weaker sections [when it was announced in 2019], though it was the election time, and rejected the advice that it would affect the party’s prospects,” he said.
Reacting to former AIADMK Minister D. Jayakumar’s allegation that Saturday’s all-party meeting, convened by the DMK, was a farce, Mr. Bharathi, accompanied by DMK MP P. Wilson, said it was the DMK that secured 27% reservation for the OBCs. “If OBC students have secured 4,000 seats in medical colleges today, the credit should go to the DMK and [Mr.] Wilson, who argued the case. If the AIADMK stands by us in the case against the reservation for the economically weaker sections, people may forgive its mistakes,” he said.
Mr. Bharathi also challenged BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan to prove her claim that the 10% quota would benefit various sections. “Is the BJP ready to come out with the statistics to support its claim? It has actually benefited one particular community, according to the information received by us through the Right to Information [Act],” he said.
The DMK government would take an appropriate decision after eliciting the views of the political parties at the all-party meeting. “Our general secretary Duraimurugan has already announced that we will file a review petition in the Supreme Court. It could result in a stay on the quota,” he said.
When told that the Congress and the CPI(M), the allies of the DMK, came out in favour of the quota, Mr. Bharathi said their views would be recorded. “But the majority view will prevail.”