Kochi: The Reservation Rights Convention, comprising representatives from reservation communities and political workers decided to take collective agitation against implementation of economic reservation.
Hameed Vaniyambalam, Kerala president of Welfare Party, who inaugurated the meeting, said the constitutional amendment that the legislation pushed through the parliament by Modi is against the right to equality guarantted in the constitution and social justice and history will never forgive those who colluded in the exercise to pass it. He added that the state government and the Centre are made up of people who do not want any change in the existing social structure based on caste system. Only with a struggle based on fraternity can social justice be established, he said.
KPA Majeed, secretary of Muslim League Kerala said that the bill was passed in parliament in a big hurry without even observing the rules of procedure. The state government has taken a one-sided stance without examining the social situation of reservation communities. KA Shafeeq, state secretary of Welfare Party presided over the meet.
The meeting was addressed also by speakers drawn from a host of backward community organizations.
The meeting was convened in the light of the economic reservation act passed by parliament following which several state governments have made similar rules. Kerala's ruling coalition is led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) which has been advocating the theory that the economically weaker segment of the forward castes currently out of the reservation bracket, should also be granted quotas.
Members of the cabinet had also added that such reservation should be open to only the weakest segment, and should not include those paying income tax. However, the recent recommendation received by the state government has fixed an income limit of Rs 8 lakh per year, thereby the economically strong among forward castes also will enjoy reservation, contrary to such promises.
Backward community organizations are thus agitated over the virtual forward caste reservation in the name of economic reservation and the rainbow meeting held on Thursday of affected communities may signal wider protests.