By TCN News,
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to continue with 69% reservation in education and employment opportunities, without excluding the creamy layer. The cabinet meeting of the government took the decision following a report by the state Backward Classes Commission.
The Commission headed by Js MS Janarthanam, constituted as per a Supreme Court directive, submitted the report before Chief Minister Jayalalithaa last week. It pointed out that there were no drawbacks in the present law being followed and that reservation was being provided as per the proportional representation of each community. It also recommended that the creamy layer needed not be excluded from the reservation, which has been going on for 17 years.
The Tamil Nadu government headed by Jayalalithaa in 1993 made a new legislation to overcome the 1992 Supreme Court order that reservation should not exceed 50 percent. The Supreme Court later clarified that reservation could go beyond 50%, considering the proportion of the backward classes. The parameters laid down by the Supreme Court in the Mandal Case judgement should be followed to re-fix the reservation quota to more than 50%.
The 69% reservation includes 30% for Backward Classes, 20% for Most Backwards Classes and denotified communities, 18% for Adi Dravidars and 1% for Scheduled Tribes. Among the 30% for BCs, 3.5% each goes to Muslims and Christians.