DMK moves Madras HC against Centre's 10% quota for economically weak groups under general category

The DMK on Friday moved the Madras High Court challenging the recent Constitutional amendment which grants 10 percent reservation to economically weaker sections of society. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam organising secretary RS Bharathi filed a writ petition in the court and said that the “reservations are not poverty alleviation programmes but are more in the nature of social justice to uplift communities which have not had access to education or employment for centuries,” according to a report by The Times of India.

DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) organising secretary RS Bharathi files a writ petition in Madras High Court challenging recent constitutional amendment for granting 10% reservation to economically weaker sections of society. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/IRfsitDZIo

— ANI (@ANI) January 18, 2019

The Centre brought in a 10 percent reservation in government jobs and education on 7 January for “economically backward” sections of upper caste communities during the recently-concluded Winter Session of Parliament. The move is seen as an important strategy of the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha election. On 8 January, the DMK had said that the BJP-led Centre had started a “disastrous game” with backward classes by introducing the amendment. DMK chief MK Stalin also demanded that the Tamil Nadu government adopt a resolution against the Centre’s order in the state’s Assembly. Stalin, leader of the Opposition, reminded the AIADMK-led state government of the 69 percent reservation already in place in Tamil Nadu. “The Central cabinet has given approval to offer 10 per cent reservation for poor among upper castes. This is against social justice and it can destroy social justice. It has been clearly stated in the 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution that reservation should be given only for socially and educationally backward people," he said. In response, the state government said that the Union Cabinet’s move was only a “policy decision” and that it had not receieved any notification from the Centre on the matter, according to a PTI report. Stalin also claimed that quota should be based on social backwardness and not economic criteria, and noted that the proposal was not in tune with Constitutional provisions on reservation. With inputs from agencies