Stalin urges TVK govt to file Supreme Court appeal over BC reservation for Muslim converts

MK Stalin. File | Photo credit: S. Siva Saravanan

DMK president and former chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday (October 15, 2026) urged the Tamil Nadu government to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court to protect the reservation rights of Backward Class (BC) members who have converted to Islam.

“Social backwardness does not arise in a day or a generation. It is the result of a social system built over thousands of years. Conversion to another religion will not erase it,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Stalin said the Supreme Court’s order on Thursday upholding the Madras High Court verdict rejecting reservation against members of the Hindu BC who had converted to Islam was against the principle of social justice.

He said the DMK government under the “Dravidian model” had passed a resolution demanding reservation for Adi Dravidars who had converted to Christianity and demanded a constitutional amendment. “The TVK government should continue this effort,” he said.

Mr. Stalin said members of the BC, Most Backward Classes (MBC) and Scheduled Castes (SC) communities who faced caste oppression should continue to get the benefits of reservation.

“It will only promote social justice. Denying reservation on the basis of religious conversion is against social justice,” he said.

Published – 15 Oct 2026 13:34 IST