CHENNAI: Fourteen Vanniyar organisations have made it clear that their support to electoral combines in the Assembly elections will depend on the response to "longstanding demands," including reservation of two per cent and 20 per cent of jobs in the Central and State establishments for the community.

The outfits, which met here on Sunday under the chairmanship of Vanniyar Sangam president A.K. Natarajan, criticised parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Congress, for "ignoring" the rights and welfare of the community, particularly in the northern districts. They demanded 50 per cent reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Most Backward Classes and Backward Classes in self-financing colleges including those run by minority communities. Quota system for Other Backward Classes should be implemented in educational institutions of excellence such as the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management. They also urged the Centre to bring out commemorative stamps on leaders belonging to the community.

Other demands

Fresh caste-based census, reservation for employment in the private sector, setting up of a separate welfare board for Vanniyar public properties and earmarking 20 per cent internal quota for Vanniyars after increasing reservation for the MBC to 35 per cent were among the other demands, Mr. Natarajan said. A panel would be formed shortly to finalise the strategy in the elections due in May.

President of the Tamil Pattali Makkal Katchi Dheeran said the Vanniyar outfits would oppose any electoral combine, which included the Pattali Makkal Katchi.

However, senior Congress leader Tindivanam K. Ramamurthy said he did not subscribe to that view. He participated in the meeting only to discuss issues related to the privileges and welfare of the community.

Mr. Ramamurthy told reporters separately that feedback from Congressmen belonging to different districts indicated there was groundswell of discontentment over the sidelining of the Most Backward Communities in the last Lok Sabha elections.

Accusing the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee of failing to uphold social justice, that had been its guiding principle, while allocating seats during the Lok Sabha elections, he said if the same situation continued in the Assembly elections, the party might lose the support of not only the Congressmen but also that of its sympathisers and neutral voters. He had submitted his views to the party high command and would continue to impress upon the leadership to resort to corrective measures.

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