All-party meet: AIADMK likely to announce decision today

CHENNAI: The Opposition AIADMK on Friday charged the DMK government of double standards in the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota and is likely to boycott the all-party meeting called by Chief Minister MK Stalin to discuss the Supreme Court verdict on it.

The Chief Minister will chair a meeting of all legislature parties at the Secretariat on Saturday to discuss the next course of action to be taken on the verdict passed by the Supreme Court upholding the provision of 10 per cent reservation to the EWS among the forward castes.

A day before the meeting, former fisheries minister D Jayakumar on behalf of AIADMK said in a statement that it was then Congress-led UPA in which DMK was an allay had constituted a commission in 2006 to look into the pros and cons with regard to the reservation for EWS.

“Based on the recommendations by the commission, the Congress-DMK alliance had enacted a law to provide reservation for EWS,” he alleged and added subsequently, the BJP-led government at the Centre had passed the bill in 2009 in this connection.

Jayakumar also alleged that when the case against EWS reservation was filed in the Supreme Court, the DMK made its representations in the court without consulting other opposition parties in the state. “Now, how we can accept an all-party meeting after the verdict when it (DMK) had not discussed with opposition party leaders and argued the court on its own,” he added.

The senior AIADMK leader said, “After coming to know about the double standards of the DMK, its allies such as Congress and Communist party have welcomed the EWS reservation verdict”. “As per the stance of AIADMK, the reservation should not affect anyone,” he said.

Jayakumar also urged the DMK government to ensure that the EWS reservation quota do not affect state’s 69% reservation. “Therefore, the DMK should move the court again by appointing experienced lawyers to ensure that the 69% reservation should not be altered”, he added.