DMK to move review petition against EWS verdict

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK has announced that it would move a review petition against the 3:2 majority verdict of the Supreme Court Constitution bench upholding the 103rd amendment of the Constitution which provides for 10 per cent reservation to EWS among the forward castes.

DMK General Secretary Duraimurugan announced late Tuesday evening that steps would be taken to file a review petition to safeguard the social justice of SC/STs and OBCs, who account for 82 per cent of the country’s population, and the fundamentals of the Constitution and the reservation policy upheld in the mandal commission judgment.

All party meet on Nov 12

Meanwhile, the ruling DMK on Tuesday has called for a meeting of all legislature parties to decide the next course of action on the issue. Chief Minister MK Stalin will chair a meeting of all legislature parties at the State Secretariat on November 12 to discuss the next course of action to be taken on the verdict passed by the Supreme Court upholding the provision of 10 per cent reservation to the EWS (Economically weaker section) among the forward castes.

Stalin has written to the leaders of all legislature parties to discuss the next course of action to be taken on the subject, a statement issued by the State government on Tuesday said. The government has requested the legislature parties to depute two persons per party for the meeting.

Referring to Monday’s apex court verdict upholding the 2019 legislation enacted by the Union government after amending the Constitution, the government release said that the all party meeting has been scheduled at 10.30am at Namakkal Kavignar Maligai on Saturday, November 12 to elicit the views of all legislature party leaders as the reservation (EwS) was an anathema to the principles of social justice and equality.

Except the national parties, almost all regional parties in the state, including the principal opposition party AIADMK, have urged the State government to move an appeal against the split verdict of the five-judge Constitution of the Supreme Court, which upheld the validity of the 103rd amendment of the Constitution. Chief Minister M K Stalin had called the apex court verdict a setback to the century-old crusade for social justice.