Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin
Credit: PTI File Photo
Chennai: Terming the Union Government’s decision to withdraw the lateral entry recruitment in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as a “victory for social justice”, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday pitched the need for breaking the “arbitrary 50 per cent ceiling on reservation.”
In social media posts before and after the notification was withdrawn, Stalin asked all opposition parties to “remain vigilant” as he warned that the BJP might try to “undermine reservation through various forms.”
He also called for “complete abolition” of Creamy Layer and stressed the need for a Caste Census, which would come in handy in formulating policies to ensure equal rights and equal opportunities in education, economy and employment to every citizen.
“Victory for Social Justice! The Union Govt has withdrawn the lateral entry recruitment after strong opposition from our I.N.D.I.A. bloc. But we must remain vigilant, as the Union BJP Govt will try to undermine reservation through various forms,” Stalin said.
“The arbitrary 50 per cent ceiling on reservation must be broken, and a nationwide Caste Census is essential to protect the rights of the backward and oppressed,” the Chief Minister added.
Earlier, he said the DMK wants the concept of the Creamy Layer to be dispensed with while calling for the raising of the stagnant ceiling for the creamy layer without any further delay.
“Above all, a nationwide Caste Census is imperative to guarantee that educational and job opportunities are justly distributed to all backward and oppressed sections of our society, who have been historically denied their rightful share,” Stalin added.
Stalin has been pushing for a nationwide Caste Census for the past year and his government had in June this year successfully passed a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly urging the Union Government to begin work on conducting the decennial population Census, which was due in 2021, along with enumeration of caste.
While moving the resolution, Stalin said it would only be fair if the Union Government conducted the Caste Census instead of state governments as only the former is empowered to carry out such an exercise.
“Many say that state governments are empowered to conduct caste census under the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008. This Act has only facilitated state governments to collect data about the socio-economic status of people. Under part A of Section 3 of the Act, state governments cannot collect data on communities listed under the 7th Schedule of the Constitution,” Stalin had said.