Secular outfits to rally against EWS quota

CHENNAI: Leaders of secular parties led by the ruling DMK on Tuesday decided to hold public meetings across the state to clarify the EWS reservation issue to the people and build public momentum against the reservation to forward castes.

To begin with, the consultation meeting chaired by Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani at Periyar Thidal this morning decided to hold a massive rally in Chennai, most likely in the first week of December.

Seconding the decision taken at the all legislature parties meeting chaired by Chief Minister MK Stalin to move review petitions against the Constitution bench verdict upholding the 103rd amendment, the consultation was attended by VCK, CPI, MDMK, IUML, VCK and academicians like Prince Gajendra Babu. It also resolved that offering reservation to the forward castes in the pretext of helping Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), instead of implementing proportionate reservation in accordance with the population census, was certain to benefit one community only among the forward castes.

Speaking at the meeting attended by all, but the Congress and CPM, in the Secular Progressive Alliance, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan said that they were not against the poor, but only the plot of the RSS against social justice. “We should reach out to the people and explain the truth in the EWS issue to the people the same way BJP leader LK Advani came out against OBC reservation when the Mandal Commission report was implemented by VP Singh,” Thirumavalavan added.