SC verdict on EWS quota is threat to reservation on the whole: DMK

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK has criticized the Supreme Court verdict upholding the 10% reservation to EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) among the unreserved category and said that the judgement poses a threat to reservation for all.

Penning a highly critical article against the 3:2 majority verdict upholding the reservation for EWS among the forward castes, DMK mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’ on Saturday elaborately quoted the excerpts of the verdict and said, “Did you see what kind of dangers are in the verdict? It is not a 10% threat…. There is a 100% threat in it.”

“We are criticising the SC verdict upholding 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among the forward castes not merely because it provides reservation based on economic criteria, which is against social justice. There are more dangers in the judgement. The verdict poses a threat to reservation for all. The verdict attempts to do away with reserving MLA/MP seats to SC/STs too, ” the Murasoli editorial reasoned.

“The verdict cannot be dismissed just as something upheld by three judges and opposed by two judges. The judges have expressed opinions against the principle of social justice espoused by the Constitution, ” the article added, quoting the portion of Justice Pardiwala’s verdict reading, “The idea of Baba Saheb Ambedkar was to bring social harmony by introducing reservation for only ten years. Reservation should not continue for an indefinite period of time so as to become a vested interest.”

Attempting to convey the dangers posed to reservation on the whole, the editorial also recalled the portion of Justice Bela Trivedi’s order stating that a “similar time limit, if prescribed, for the special provisions in respect of the reservations and representations provided in Article 15 and 16 of the Constitution.”