Chennai, 7 December (H.S.) : Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) President Anbumani Ramadoss has issued an appeal to all political parties and social organisations in Tamil Nadu, excluding the ruling DMK, to join a state-wide protest in Chennai on December 17. The protest is organized to demand the immediate implementation of a caste-based survey in the state.

In his letter, Ramadoss stressed that an updated caste survey is crucial for social justice and maintaining a fair, evidence-based reservation policy. He argued that Tamil Nadu’s existing 69% reservation quota faces legal vulnerability because it still relies on the 1931 census, despite a 2010 Supreme Court directive to collect fresh caste population data.

He pointed out that state governments legally possess the power to conduct such surveys under the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008, citing similar surveys already completed in states like Bihar, Telangana, Karnataka, and Odisha.

Ramadoss accused the DMK government of misleading the public by claiming that only the central government has the authority to conduct the enumeration and alleged that the DMK has historically blocked opportunities for a caste census over the past few decades.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary