On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam announced that the state would...
On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam announced that the state would form a commission to work out the modalities of collecting caste data.
The announcement came hours after a delegation of the Pattali Makkal Katchi led by former Union Minister Anbumani Ramadoss met Palaniswamy to demand a 20% quota for the Vanniyar community in educational institutions and government jobs.
The Vanniyar community is currently classified under the Most Backward Classes in Tamil Nadu. Considered to be the most numerous among the MBCs in the state, they form a powerful vote bloc. Their demand comes months ahead of the 2021 assembly elections scheduled for April or May next year.
Tamil Nadu already has 69% reservations.
The Pattali Makkal Katchi will fight the assembly elections in an alliance that includes the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2019, Ramadoss was elected to the Rajya Sabha with the support of the AIADMK.
State-wide protest
The decision to form the commission came on the day when the PMK launched a state-wide protest to push for its demmand. Party founder S Ramadoss had asked the cadre to protest with such ferocity that the state would be forced to...
