Thiruvananthapuram: The SNDP Yogam council has urged the LDF government to scrap the decision to reserve 10 percent jobs in Devaswom boards to the poor among forward communities, saying it is “unconstitutional”. Already 90 percent posts in Devaswoms are occupied by forward community members. The council in a resolution on Friday decided to initiate legal proceedings against the decision as it amounted to the breach of the Constitution. The government had initiated the introduction of economic reservation in Devaswom boards for the first time in the country.
In Travancore, Kochi and Malabar devaswom boards only six percent posts were being held by Ezhava community members. Instead of introducing 10 percent reservation for forward communities, the government should immediately redistribute 18 percent jobs available in reservation quota to communities inadequately represented in devsawom boards. The council said the decision militated against social justice and amounted to denial of justice to backward sections. This would derail efforts to ensure adequate representation in governance to sections marginalized by castes.
By the current move, the Government would be reserving 10 percent jobs to a community that accounted for 12 percent of the population while leaving aside only 17 percent quota to the Ezhava community that comprised 27 percent of the population. The council said parties had vied among themselves to legislate to ensure special recruitment for Christians and Muslims when they complained of inadequate representation in government. But they had never shown any such concern towards the Ezhava community.
