I am drenched in tears of pleasure, says Ramadoss

PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Friday stated that he was “drenched in tears of joy” after Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami tabled and handed a invoice that ensures 10.5% inside reservation for the Vanniyar group in training and jobs inside the ‘Most Backward Class’ quota in the State Assembly.

In a press release, Dr. Ramadoss thanked Mr. Palaniswami for “ensuring social justice” for the Vanniyar group after 40 years. “I am drenched in tears of joy and [his son] Anbumani Ramadoss is also in a similar state of mind. When he told me about the news, he couldn’t control his tears. He was emotional and crying profusely. I couldn’t stop his tears.” he stated.

“The reason for the tears is that the Vanniyar community, which is now in a very bad state, will improve because of this,” stated Dr. Ramadoss.

According to him, the ten.5% reservation would guarantee correct illustration for the Vanniyars and they’d get 10,500 jobs if the federal government recruits 1,00,000 folks.

“If there are 6,000 medical seats, around 630 seats would be ensured for Vanniyars. It would improve the social status and livelihood of Vanniyars. I protested for this for the last 40 years,” he stated.

Fight not over

Stating that the battle for social justice shouldn’t be full, he stated the illustration for the Vanniyars ought to be corresponding to its inhabitants.

“We have reiterated this to the State authorities and we’ve got been promised {that a} census can be accomplished in the following six months and correct illustration can be offered.

“Mr. Palaniswami has given this assurance in the State Assembly as well. After the victory in the State Assembly election, PMK will ensure victory in these as well,” he stated.

He added that Vanniyars – who’re greater than 2 crore in inhabitants – didn’t get correct illustration in training and jobs.

He recalled a quantity of protests ranging from Eighties have been spearheaded by Vanniyar Sangam. “For 10 years, Vanniyar Sangam carried out continuous protests. In 1980, I held a big public meeting demanding reservations in Karungalpalayam in Erode district. Between 1981 and 1989, Vanniyar Sangam went to more than 30,000 Vanniyar settlements and met the people to prepare them for the protests,” he stated, highlighting how he held a starvation strike in Marina Beach in March, 1984 and recalled how round 2 lakh folks participated in a march from Island Grounds to the Seerani Arangam on seaside highway in August 1985.

He additionally recollected one-day highway roko on May 6, 1986 and rail roko on December 19, 1986.

“In the final leg of the protests in the decade, a continuous road roko was held for a week between September 17 and September 23 in 1987 across Tamil Nadu for social justice. The protests have a long history and are filled with sacrifices,” he stated.

Dr. Ramadoss reiterated that the previous Chief Minister and DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, betrayed the pursuits of the Vanniyar group by clubbing the group together with 108 different communities by creating MBC class and setting apart 20% as a substitute of offering 20% for Vanniyars alone.

“It has taken us 32 years to get this back. Vanniyars didn’t get representation in education and jobs despite the creation of the MBC category. Vanniyars have just 2% representation in group 1 jobs selected by Tamil Nadu Government Employees Recruitment Board, 4% in group 2 jobs, 5% in group 3 jobs, 5-6% in group 4 jobs. This is the reason why there has been an uprising within the community,” he stated.

Dr. Ramadoss recalled that Mr. Anbumani met Mr. Palaniswami in August 2018 demanding caste-wise census and it was one of the calls for after we allied with AIADMK in 2019.

“I reiterated in November 2019 to the Chief Minister that Vanniyars should be given separate reservations and presented evidence for it. Not just that, I had written detailed letters on October 12 and 23 last year. The Vanniyar Sangam and PMK launched protests only after all this,” he stated.