Anbumani urges Centre to remove 50 per cent reservation cap, hold caste census

CHENNAI: PMK president and Rajya Sabha MP Anbumani Ramadoss has demanded the Union government remove the 50 per cent cap on reservation and amend the Census Act of 1948 to hold a caste-wise census.

In his address during the debate on 75 years of India’s constitution in the Rajya Sabha, he said the Supreme Court had fixed the 50 per cent cap on reservation, not the Parliament. However, the apex court had also upheld the 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker section even though it exceeded the 50 per cent cap on reservation.

He said that while the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (SCs and STs) were given reservation in proportionate to their population, the OBCs were given only 27 per cent reservation even though they constitute 63 per cent of the country’s population. “Why this discrimination to OBCs, time and again? To add to that, there is a concept called the creamy layer. Why do we have a creamy layer? Is it in our Constitution? It is unconstitutional. There is no creamy layer for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Why only for OBCs?” Anbumani asked.

The PMK leader demanded the government to include a column in the census to collect data related to OBCs. He noted that already, the government was collecting data related to minorities, SCs and STs. “Why is the government hesitant to include such a column and know not only the population of the OBCs but also their social status? For this, we need to amend the Census Act of 1948. At that time, there was no category of OBCs, only Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. So, it should be done now,” Anbumani Ramadoss urged.