Chennai, May 31 (IANS): AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS) on Monday criticised the state's DMK government over non-inclusion of the Badaga community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.

OPS, in a statement, said that state Forest Minister K. Ramachandran has ruled out the possibility of including the community in ST list which was unfortunate.

He said that the DMK had given assurance during the 2021 election campaign that the community would be included in the ST list and added that former Chief Minister and AIADMK leader, late Jayalalithaa had demanded that the community be included in ST list.

The AIADMK leader, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that Badagas were classified as a tribe as per the 1931 census but after Independence, they were removed from the list for "unknown reasons". He requested the Prime Minister to issue necessary instructions to the ministry concerned to include the community in the ST list.