Reservations not 'sucking away seats,' says DMK, slamming petitioners for causing unrest by challenging NEET quotas

Tamil Nadu's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court with a written statement on how the 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and the 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) All India Quota (AIQ) is helping set right 13 years of injustice against marginalised communities by the centre in the realm of medical education. It has asked the court to dismiss the petitions.

The DMK's statement comes in light of the ongoing hearings in the Supreme Court of a slew of petitions filed by NEET aspirants against the reservation. The party claims that the reservations set in place will help 4,000 students just this year, and will create a "positive domino effect on the society at large." Through the statement, the DMK intends to implead itself in the case.

It also referred to the 1979 Mandal Commission's submissions on the issue which had first recommended the 27 per cent reservation for the OBC, which were, in turn, ratified by the court, and the 2006 Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act. "Therefore granting of 27 per cent reservation cannot be a subject matter of litigation again and again when this Hon’ble Court had already settled the issue," read the statement. The DMK said that reservation is an affirmative action that bridges the gap between the privileged and the underprivileged and removes the imbalance brought about by historical injustices against certain sections of the society. It does not, as the petitioners claimed, "suck off seats," said the statement. 

The party had some harsh words for the petitioners, accusing them of intending to create unrest in the country and restore the injustice, illegalities and discrimination in the society. "The Petitioners are merely wearing a mask of merit in order to  destroy  social  justice  and  to  bring  disharmony  and  social disorder. There  are  no  pleadings  as  to  how  their  rights  under Part III of the Constitution have been violated except for using a term “merit”. The marks obtained by them and other details are not pleaded in the Writ Petition as to how they claim themselves  as  meritorious," said the DMK.

The DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been actively protesting against NEET, even going to the extent of passing a Bill in the State Assembly banning the national medical entrance exam. Chief Minister MK Stalin has repeatedly said that NEET is an unfair exam that shuts out economically disadvantaged sections who cannot afford the coaching required to clear it. Stalin has also been campaigning to get other states on board its fight against the exam. 

The latest hearing in the ongoing case happened on October 21, where a three-judge bench of the apex court had asked the centre to file an affidavit explaining its criteria behind setting the same income limit for Economically Weaker Sections and the Other Backward Classes, failing which, the court warned it would stay the Centre's reservation notification of July 29, 2021.

The statement also mentions the Madras High Court's judgement in August, and says that the court had made it clear the reservations would not impact seats for the general category, reported LiveLaw.