Chennai, Dec 4 In a strongly worded statement, PMK President Dr Anbumani Ramadoss criticised the Tamil Nadu government for reconstituting the State Backward Classes Commission with retired Madras High Court judge V. Bharathidasan as its chairperson, even as the previous panel under the same leadership allegedly failed to fulfil its core responsibilities.
Dr Anbumani pointed out that the three-year term of the Backward Classes Commission ended on November 16, after which the state reconstituted the body without evaluating its performance. He argued that the commission, despite having constitutional powers and a clear mandate from the state government, did not take a single meaningful step to ensure social justice for Backward and Most Backward communities.
According to him, the commission was empowered to recommend internal reservations for major communities and initiate a caste-based population census, both of which would have helped correct long-standing inequities.
“However, the panel did not deliver even one of the six major tasks assigned to it,” he said.
Dr Anbumani asserted that had the commission performed its duties effectively, thousands of youth from the Vanniyar community and other Most Backward Classes would have secured government jobs and admissions to professional courses, including medicine. Instead, the inaction of the panel has directly resulted in the loss of crucial education and employment opportunities for these students.
He highlighted that it has been 1,345 days since the Supreme Court delivered its verdict permitting internal reservation for the Vanniyar community in education and public employment. It has also been 1,058 days since the Tamil Nadu government directed the Backward Classes Commission to submit recommendations on the matter within three months. Yet, no substantive progress has been made so far.
Dr Anbumani emphasised that the Supreme Court, while calling for permanent Backward Classes Commissions at the national and state levels, clearly intended to strengthen social justice mechanisms.
Reconstituting the same commission without accountability, he said, defeats that purpose.
He urged the newly formed commission under Justice V. Bharathidasan to at least now recognise its constitutional obligation and act with sincerity. The panel must fulfil its duties within a fixed timeframe, including recommending internal reservation for the Vanniyar community as mandated by the Supreme Court.
He concluded that only timely and decisive action can restore confidence among backward communities who continue to wait for long-overdue justice.
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