Protests erupt in Chennai’s streets

CHENNAI: A day after the Tamil Nadu government made clear its intentions to support the proposed 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, protests spilled over to the streets of Chennai for the first time on Thursday.

Over hundred students from IIT Madras and city medical colleges braved the unexpected rains to raise anti-reservation slogans in front of the government guesthouse in Chepauk under the banner of ‘Youth for Equality’. A contingent of police kept vigil as the protesters waved anti-government placards at passing government vehicles. “We have come out a bit late, but soon Chennai will see the might of merit over quota. About 3,000 students have expressed willingness to join the protest,” group leader Murali Krishna told DNA.

The ruling DMK has been supporting reservation. M Karunanidhi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 22 to pass an ordinance for the immediate implementation of reservation in higher education. S Ramadoss, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader and a major ally of the DMK, echoed the demand.