DMK to file review petition against SC verdict upholding EWS quota

Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Tuesday announced that it will file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict upholding the quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in jobs and education.

The decision came hours after Chief Minister M K Stalin called for a meeting of parties represented in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on November 12 to discuss the “next course of action” on the issue following the Supreme Court. Tamil Nadu hasn’t yet implemented the 10 per cent quota for EWS.

A government release said since the EWS quota is against equality and principles of social justice, the Chief Minister desires to meet representatives of political parties to discuss the steps to be taken. The meeting will be chaired by Stalin at the Secretariat to which each party can send two representatives, the release said.

In a press release, DMK general secretary Durai Murugan said the verdict was a “blow” to equality that is enshrined in the constitution and the concept of social justice. Its ally VCK has already announced it will file a review petition.

Read | Opposition divided over SC judgment upholding 10% EWS quota: Congress hails order, DMK calls it 'setback'

“The DMK will take steps to file a review petition against the verdict in Supreme Court to protect the rights of 82 per cent people belonging to SC/ST, and Other Backward Classes, the social justice principle and to ensure that the reservation borne out of Mandal Commission stays,” Durai Murugan said.

Stalin had on Monday termed the verdict as “a setback in our century-long crusade for social justice” and recalled that it was the DMK which had been leading the legal battle against the EWS quota introduced by the BJP led Union Government in 2019.

“Our next course of action will be decided after a detailed analysis of the verdict in consultation with legal experts. Likeminded parties from the land of Tamil Nadu which paved the way for the first constitutional amendment to safeguard social justice shall unite to echo the voice for social justice all over the country,” he had said.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu had termed the Supreme Court upholding the EWS quota as a “setback” to the state’s century-old fight in favour of social justice and appealed to everyone to “come together” against the “injustice.”