Huge win for social justice, says CPM on Arunthathiyar verdict

CHENNAI: CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court’s judgment of upholding internal reservation for Arunthathiyar as historic and a huge victory in the journey of social justice.

“It is a great victory for the struggle of the CPM for Arunthathiyar people’s internal reservation in the state. We welcome the verdict with joy,” he told reporters here.

Balakrishnan said that a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that the Arunthathiyar Internal Reservation Act, 2009 passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, taking into account the different levels of oppression prevailing among the Scheduled Castes and making internal reservations does not violate the powers given to the President under Article 341 of the Constitution and that it is valid if it is carried out with sufficient data for internal reservations. The SC order has overruled EV Chinnaiah vs Andhra Pradesh case verdict which had determined that State Legislature cannot sub-classify scheduled castes for grant of reservation in admissions and public jobs.

Balakrishnan noted that the judges have rejected the arguments of the opposite side such as the granting of internal reservation creates division among the Scheduled Castes and causes discrimination. “Judges have ruled that when there are different conditions in a society, different approaches can be taken to preserve balance. With this judgment, the long-standing demand of the people of Arunthathiyar has been confirmed. It is also history that after the CPM led the political movement, it created a hostile environment,” he said.