PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Tuesday urged Vanniyar youth not to lose heart over the Madras High Court’s verdict quashing the 10.5% internal reservation for Vanniyars within the 20% Most Backward Classes quota and said that it was his duty to fight for its restoration.
In a letter addressed to the Vanniyar youth, the PMK leader contended “We have lost some territory, not the war”.
He said, “We have not been defeated. It has been announced that we have been defeated. That’s all. The Madras High Court verdict is not beyond criticism. There are several holes in the judgement.”
He pointed out that Advocate General R.Shunmugasundaram argued in favour of the reservation. The counsel for PMK, Vanniyar Sangam and its sister organisations, answered the questions raised by the High court in a detailed, comprehensive manner. “If the court had passed a verdict based on these arguments, it would have been a verdict that would act as guide for other cases on reservations. However, the court only considered Tamil Nadu Government’s argument and that it has not answered the questions properly, and termed the 10.5% reservation for Vanniyar as unconstitutional. What kind of social justice is this?” he asked.
