Centre has accepted the demand of Devendra Kula Vellalars, Bill to be passed in Parliament : PM

“A Bill to this effect will be passed in the upcoming session of Parliament,” he said, after launching several infrastructure projects and laying the foundation stone
for several other projects.

"When they approached me, I told them that Devendra rhymes with my name Narendra, so I understand their name," he said and added that this is more than just
a mere name change.

Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar on Saturday introduced the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2021, to group seven sub-sects of Scheduled Caste communities under ‘Devendra Kula Velallars’.

However, the Bill does not address the other demand of some community leaders--removal of their castes from the Scheduled Caste list.

Puthiya Tamilagam president K. Krishnasamy had insisted that the seven communities be removed from the Scheduled Caste list.

As per the statement of objects and reasons, the Tamil Nadu government proposed certain modifications to the list of the Scheduled Castes by grouping seven castes, which exist as separate entries.

The communities are to be grouped in the following way: “Devendra Kula Vellalar [Devendrakulathan, Kadaiyan (excluding in the coastal areas of Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts), Kalladi, Kudumbam, Pallan, Pannadi, Vathiriyan] and Kadaiyan (in the districts of Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam)”.

The Bill is likely to be taken up for consideration and passage in the second part of the Budget session, which will begin on March 8.

The demand for the grouping had been raised several times, with members of the community having met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.

Mr. Modi had said at a public meeting in the State that his government was sensitive to the demands of the community.

Last December, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had announced that he would write to the Centre to group the seven communities as ‘Devendra Kula Velallars’, accepting the recommendation of the Hansraj Varma Committee established by his government.