PMK urges State to issue pending community certificates to STs

CHENNAI: PMK Founder S Ramadoss on Tuesday urged the State government to issue pending community certificates for persons of Scheduled Tribes (STs).

"Hundreds of students attached to various ST communities are losing out on education opportunities every year due to officials refusing to provide community certificates for them. Delay in issuing community certificates is delaying their development and so the State government should ensure that there is no delay in issuing community certificates for STs," said Ramadoss, in a statement.

Recently, an octagenrian Periyasamy of Konda Reddy community, one of the Scheduled Tribes, committed suicide in Pallipattu Tahsildar office for officials not issuing community certificate for him despite him fighting for several years.

Quoting the incident, Ramadoss said that Periyasamy fought for 38 years for community certificate but could not get one.

"Reservation on the basis of community is a right for upliftment of socially and educationally marginalised communities and community certificate is the means to achieve it. It is disheartening to see that people have to wait for 38 years and still could not get community certificates," said Ramdoss.

He further said that Tahsildars are empowered with the task of providing community certificates but the reason for them not providing the certificates could not be understandable.