TN to provide reservation for Christians, Muslims

Chennai, Apr 5: Tamil Nadu Chief Minsiter M Karunanidhi today announced in the state Assembly that the government had decided to provide exclusive reservation for Christian and Muslim minorities in government jobs and educational institutions in the state.

Intervening the debate, he said the Tamil Nadu Backward Class Commission, headed by Mr Justice Janarthanan, which examined the issue after a detailed enquiry, had recommended that the government could provide exclusive reservation to Christian and Muslim minorities in the state.

He said the Commission, in its report submitted to the government had made the recommendation after going through in detail statistics relating to Backward Class population among the Hindus, Christians and Muslims, mentioned in the second Backward Class Commission, headed by J A Ambashankar.

''The Tamil Nadu government has decided to accept the recommendation, which is legal and accepted by one and all that Christian and Muslim minorities be provided exclusive reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, he said amidst loud thumping of desks.

Mr Karunanidhi said the state government would initiate legal steps to implement the exclusive reservation for minorities, once the Supreme Court gave its order in a case relating to 69 per cent reservation, being implemented in the state. He said the DMK Government would come out with full details of the issue after consulting its allies, which included the Congress, Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Left parties.

Mr Karunanidhi, who intervened when Khaleelur Rahman (DMK), expressed his view on social justice, while participating in the debate on the demand for grants for backward classes, said the first Communal GO passed in 1921, during the Justice Party regime, itself had reservation for Christian and Muslim minorities.

In the 1927 GO also, there was exclusive reservation for these two communities and the same was implemented on ''quoa and rota'' basis. Following the footsteps of the Justice Party, the DMK Government during 1973-74 included Urdu speaking 'Labbai and Thekkini' Muslims in the list of backward classes, he said.

Since then, there had been a demand for exclusive reservation for the two communities and accepting the demand, the DMK, in its 2006 election manifesto, had promised separate reservation and made a committment to this effect in the budget for the year 2006-07 after coming to power.

Based on the promises made in the election manifesto and budget, the government, in a first move, had appointed the Janarthanan Commission to examine the issue, he said.

UNI