VCK founder and Chidambaram MP Thol. Thirumavalavan on Monday said the party will file a curative petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the 3-2 verdict delivered by a five-judge Bench, upholding the constitutional validity of the 10% reservation in education and jobs for the economically weaker sections (EWS) of society.
Mr. Thirumavalavan urged his allies, the Congress and the CPI(M) to rethink their support for the quota.
In a statement, he said the verdict goes against the Constitution, and was an injustice committed in the name of justice. “The Modi government, which has not filled thousands of backlog vacancies for OBCs, SC and ST communities, has been showing a special interest in the 10% reservation for EWS. While the BJP says all Hindus are one, it is consistently working against the interests of OBCs, SCs and STs, and in favour of the privileged castes,” he alleged.
“The judges who supported the majority verdict did not provide any reasons as to why they are rejecting the argument put forward by senior advocate Meenakshi Arora [on behalf of the VCK] that this law should be struck [down] because it excludes the weaker sections of OBCs, SCs and ST communities, which goes against equality enshrined in the Constitution,” he said.
“We will file a curative petition against the verdict, urging that a Bench with more judges hear it. We hope the DMK and others will file similar petitions against the verdict. The issue of reservation cannot be resolved in the court. Primarily, this is an issue that should be resolved in the political arena,” he said.
Differing from the Congress’ official view, Tamil Nadu Congress MP S. Jothimani said the Supreme Court verdict “is a setback for the 100-year-old social justice movement.”
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss said the verdict was a disappointment and a setback for social justice.
The AIADMK’s former interim general secretary, V.K. Sasikala, called upon the State government to take legal steps for reinforcing social justice.
AMMK general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran said that though there was no second opinion about providing help to the EWS, the law would affect backward classes severely as it eroded the fundamentals of social justice.
Even if the 10% quota were to be implemented, there would be enormous practical difficulties, he said.
