ALAPPUZHA: The SNDP Yogam will take the lead in coordinating Backward Classes at the national level to protect reservation in higher education, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan has said.

At a press conference here on Thursday Mr. Natesan welcomed the decision of the Union Government to implement reservation in higher education. He said the SNDP leaders will camp in New Delhi from July 2 to 6 to coordinate efforts to protect reservation.

A meeting of leaders of Backward Classes from various parts of the country will be held at the Mavalankar Auditorium on July 2, he said. Mr. Natesan added that the SNDP planned to hold a big rally of backward communities in New Delhi in near future.

Mr. Natesan thanked Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president G. Raman Nair for implementing 33 per cent reservation for Dalits and Backward Classes in the TDB. He said Nair Service Sanghom (NSS) general secretary P.K. Narayana Panicker had no right to oppose reservation in TDB. A major part of the income of temples in the State is donations given by people from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), he said.

Mr Panicker's statement that temples will loss its vitality if reservation was implemented is against the spirit of the work undertaken by late Mannathu Padmanabhan, Mr. Natesan said. Mannam had used his influence to facilitate entry of Backward Classes into temples, he said.

On the statement of the NSS leaders that the SNDP-NSS unity had ceased to exist Mr. Natesan said his aim was the unity of majority communities. The NSS agreed to cooperate with that effort, he said. Now the NSS unilaterally withdrew from unity efforts, Mr Natesan said. He said he was yet to understand why the NSS made such a move. He recounted that the NSS and the SNDP had formed a nine-member joint council to discuss the contentious issues. The NSS leaders could have brought such issues before the council, noted Mr. Natesan.

The Yogam general secretary continued that several director board members of the NSS and prominent members of the Nair community had conveyed their support for unity of majority communities. Mr. Natesan said he would continue that effort.

On the bill on professional colleges piloted in the Assembly, Mr. Natesan said that although he welcomed it generally, the provision to implement 12 per cent reservation based on economic backwardness was not welcome.

Speaking on the issue of certain colleges in the State getting minority status, Mr. Natesan said there had been a conspiracy at official level to help those colleges gain the status against the Government policy. The Government should take strong action against those officials he said. He added that there should be social control over minority colleges also.

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