Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Unveiling a statue of V P Singh on his death anniversary, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday hailed the former Prime Minister as the “guardian of social justice” and pushed for transforming “political actions” for the upliftment of people belonging to Backward Classes, Scheduled Caste (SC), Tribals, and Minorities into “governmental actions.”
Stalin also utilized the event, which was attended by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Singh’s family, to appeal to the Union Government to conduct Caste Census along with the once-in-a-decade Census whenever it is announced. He also demanded that a committee consisting of MPs from all parties be constituted to ensure that people belonging to OBC, SC/ST, and minority communities are provided reservation.
“All political parties that are interested in ensuring social justice in the society should unite to work for these communities in the interest of the people. We should take a pledge today that all political actions aimed at uplifting the downtrodden will be converted into governmental actions,” Stalin said in his speech.
Singh, who was Prime Minister between 1989 and 1990, had enjoyed excellent rapport with late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi. DMK supported the National Front government, which Singh headed, and used its clout to push the Union Government to constitute the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) to solve the Cauvery water crisis.
The DMK celebrates Singh particularly for his decision to implement the Mandal Commission report that batted for 27 per cent reservation to OBCs, an issue very dear to the party. It was during Singh’s tenure that the domestic and international terminals at the Chennai Airport were named after K Kamaraj and C N Annadurai respectively.
“Erecting a statue of V P Singh does not mean that his popularity is enhanced. We have shown him the gratitude we owe him. It was VP Singh who opened the doors of social justice to the oppressed people. He was adamant that it would not matter if he lost his prime ministership,” Stalin said.
“This Dravidian model government considers its duty to erect a statue to him,” the Chief Minister added and pushed the need for reservation in the appointment of judges to High Courts and the Supreme Court.
“Out of 89 departmental secretaries of the Union Government, 85 are upper caste. Only one person belongs to Scheduled Caste and only 3 belong to Tribal category. There are no people from backward communities,” Stalin said.
He also said out of 604 judges appointed in high courts across the country from 2018 to 2023, only 72 belonged to Backward Classes. “But 458 people belong to the general category. Reservation system is not implemented in the appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges. Why is the reservation system not implemented during promotions in government departments?” he asked.