DMK president M.K. Stalin on Wednesday said the revelation of the Supreme Court that the Tamil Nadu government did not press for the implementation of reservation for the Backward Classes in medical seats surrendered to the central pool was shocking.
“It is shocking and has exposed the double standards of the AIADMK government. It shows that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami will sacrifice anything for an alliance with the BJP,” he said in a statement.
He said the High Court had ordered the implementation of the reservation for the OBCs on a petition filed by the DMK and had directed the State government to constitute a committee to study the issue.
“But when the petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government for implementing reservations came up for hearing at the Supreme Court, it was revealed that the State had not made any demand for its implementation from the current year,” Mr. Stalin said.
He said DMK MP and senior counsel P. Wilson made out a case for implementing the existing 27% reservation, and the court directed the government to find a way to implement the same.
“Though the AIADMK government went to the Supreme Court for its implementation, it has changed its stand in the committee meeting for its feared action in the gutkha case and irregularities in National Highway projects,” Mr. Stalin claimed.
Procurement centres
Mr. Stalin also demanded the opening of more direct procurement centres for procuring paddy from farmers without a ceiling.
In another statement, he said the government’s failure to fully procure produce from farmers had resulted in the destruction of 50,000 paddy sacks in the Kollidam area.
“All procurement centres buy only up to 1,000 sacks and the policy has caused enormous hardship to farmers. It is highly condemnable that the government remains indifferent to the problems of the farmers,” he said. Mr. Stalin said that tonnes of paddy was already lost in the rain because of the government’s failure to open procurement centres, and, now, farmers were keeping their fingers crossed because of the ceiling.
Pointing out that the government had failed to implement the recommendation of the M.S. Swaminathan Committee that farmers should be given an additional 50%, along with the production cost, Mr. Stalin said the government had announced a minimum support price just as a formality.
“The policies give room for suspicion whether both the Centre and the AIADMK government are deliberately doing this to create a hopeless situation for farmers. The governments should give up their anti-farmer policy.”
