The Pattali Makkal Katchi organised protests in Chennai and other towns, demanding caste-based census and 20 per cent reservation for Vanniyars.
Party founder S. Ramadoss, who led the agitation in Chennai, wanted the State government to take the lead in ensuring caste-wise enumeration. Terming this a genuine demand, Dr. Ramadoss said the party would go to any extent to ensure that caste-based census became a reality.
In Kancheepuram, former Union Minister and PMK youth wing leader, Anbumani Ramadoss, said the party expected the State government to initiate and complete the process of caste-wise data collection within a reasonable time frame. “The State government should volunteer itself to collect caste-wise data to arrive at the percentage of reservation as suggested by the Supreme Court recently while hearing a bunch of cases questioning the validity of 69 per cent reservation in Tamil Nadu and as well as in neighbouring Karnataka…We want to spearhead the battle for social justice by urging the State government to make use of the avenue thrown open by the Supreme Court to find a viable solution to this complex issue”, he said.
If the government did not take up the caste-wise census, the PMK would resort to other means, he warned. “We hope the State government will not force us to enact the late 1980s episode when the State came to a standstill in the wake of Vanniyar Sangam agitation.”
