Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M. Karunanidhi on Sunday countered Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s claim that she laid foundation for giving reservation to Muslims in education and employment.
Mr. Karunanidhi said leaders like Kader Mohideen of the Indian Union Muslim League and M.H. Jawahirullah of the Manitha Neya Makkal Katchi made it clear through recent statements that Muslims were granted 3.5 per cent reservation only during the DMK regime.
Referring to her statement that she never had sent kar sevaks to Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid was razed down in 1992, the DMK president asked whether public was unaware of Ms. Jayalalithaa’s relation with regard to kar seva and how she behaved at that time. Pointing out that newspaper reports published in 1992 on her stand in support of kar seva , he asked why she had not come forward to deny those reports then.
Stating that in 2004 Ms. Jayalalithaa had said that granting reservation to Muslims would pave the way for Christians and other minorities to make similar claims, Mr. Karunanidhi asked whether she would deny such statements.
