AIADMK co-coordinator and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday criticised Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for seeking to hide the failure of his nine-month-old government on a host of issues by writing a letter to 37 leaders for nominating their representatives to the proposed body, the All India Federation of Social Justice.
In a statement, Mr. Palaniswami said it looked as if Mr. Stalin had, under the guise of the Federation, written the letter out of the thought of becoming Prime Minister, just as leaders of other regional parties in the country had entertained such a notion.
The letter did not talk of how social justice had been snatched away from the people of the State. But, he [Mr. Stalin] tried taking credit for getting 27% quota in education and employment in institutions of the Central government.
Mr. Palaniswami asserted that it was his party which had initially filed a case in the Madras High Court, demanding 50% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in medical seats of the all-India quota. Again, it was his party that first went to the Supreme Court on the matter.
Recalling that former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa took steps to implement the 69% quota, he accused the DMK of not having done anything to get the 27% quota implemented at the Centre, despite having shared power there for 17 years.
Referring to the letter sent by Mr. Stalin in the past to seven Chief Ministers seeking their support on the NEET issue, Mr. Palaniswami wanted to know whether any of them had replied to him and whether he would make any such reply public.
