Chennai, Oct 17
Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary M Veerapandian has urged the Union government to amend the Constitution to protect the reservation rights of Scheduled Caste and Backward Class people even after religious conversion.
In a statement, Veerapandian criticised the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the Tamil Nadu government’s appeal against a ruling denying reservation benefits to people who converted to Islam based on their previous caste identity. He said the decision went against the principle of social justice.
Veerapandian argued that reservation was intended to address social and educational backwardness rather than religion. He said caste discrimination and social exclusion continued across religious communities and that conversion alone did not eliminate the disadvantages faced by Scheduled Caste people who embraced Islam or Christianity.
The CPI called on the Union government to ensure that religious converts retained their existing reservation benefits. It also urged the Tamil Nadu government to initiate appropriate legal action to protect their rights.