PMK chief hails verdict on caste-wise census

Chennai, Oct 26 (UNI) Pattali Makkal Katchi(PMK) founder Leader S Ramadoss today welcomed the judgment delivered by Madras High Court directing the Centre to take all steps for conducting a caste-wise census in the country, calling it 'historic.' In a release from his Thailapuram Residence in Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu, Dr Ramadoss said his party had been stressing on caste-wise census to ensure full benefits of reservation to the people.

Whenever he got an opportunity to meet the Prime Minister, he had broached the topic. In fact, the PMK held a national-level seminar earlier this week on the caste-wise census.

Leaders of several national parties interested in social justice and reservation policy participated.

As a follow-up, a petition signed by 170 MPs for conducting caste-wise census in 2011 was forwared by Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil.

Under these circumstances, Madras High Court delivered a historically important judgement, he said and requested the Union Home Ministry to accept the verdict and pass appropriate orders to the Census of India.

Dr Ramadoss also recalled that the Supreme Court had earlier granted an interim stay on the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs seeking to know the basis on which the percentage was arrived as no caste census was conducted after 1931.

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