AIADMK maintains silence over Supreme Court’s verdict on EWS quota

CHENNAI

The two camps in the AIADMK, led by interim general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and deposed coordinator O. Panneerselvam, are maintaining silence over the Supreme Court’s judgment upholding the constitutional validity of the 10% quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS) among the general category.

A couple of leaders in the Palaniswami camp say consultations are under way within the organisation and also with legal experts so that the party takes a cohesive stand on the issue.

Mr. Palaniswami’s statement, issued on Tuesday in response to the DMK regime’s decision to form the Human Resources Reforms Committee, was also silent on the issue, even though it touched upon the concept of social justice in general and the 69% reservation in particular. The AIADMK’s interim general secretary contended that, going by the terms of reference for the panel, the move would lead to the end of the 69% reservation system, and would go against the concept of social justice.

What is inexplicable is that the previous AIADMK regime did not favour the implementation of the 10% quota in Tamil Nadu. In fact, even with respect to issuing income and asset certificates to candidates belonging to the EWS for admission to Central educational institutions or employment in the Central government, it had, at one stage, taken a stand not to permit tahsildars to issue such certificates.

It was only after the issue went to the Madras High Court in mid-2020 that the government decided to revisit it. Later, the tahsildars were allowed to issue the certificates only for the purpose of admission to Central educational institutions or jobs at the Centre. [There has been no change in the position since then, says an official.] 

In July 2019, Mr. Panneerselvam, the then Deputy Chief Minister, chaired a meeting of 21 political parties to examine the 10% quota and the Medical Council of India’s offer to increase the sanctioned strength of students in medical colleges by 25%, in the event of the State agreeing to implement the quota. At the meeting, a majority of the parties expressed their opposition to the idea, whereas a handful of parties, such as the BJP, the Congress, the CPI(M) and the Puthiya Tamizhagam, supported the vertical reservation. 

Two years ago, when the AIADMK regime and Governor Banwarilal Purohit developed differences over clearance for a Bill providing 7.5% horizontal reservation for NEET-qualified students of State government schools in undergraduate medical admissions, a proposal was mooted informally for securing the ruling party’s approval for the 10% quota in exchange for assent to the horizontal reservation. However, the AIADMK stuck to its position against the EWS quota and, eventually, the then Governor gave his assent after the government decided to take the executive route to enforce the 7.5% quota, sources recall.