Karunanidhi meets Kalam, Surjeet, Arjun Singh

New Delhi, Dec 8 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today called on President A P J Abdul Kalam and submitted a copy of the assembly resolution for conducting judicial proceedings in the state in Tamil.

Mr Karunanidhi, who was accompanied by Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran to Rashtrapathi Bhavan, spent about 15 minutes with the President.

After the meeting, the Chief Minister said under the Constitution, the President's approval was necessary for enforcing the Tamil Nadu government's decision to use Tamil, declared as a classical language by the UPA government, in courts.

Later in the day, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh called on Mr Karunanidhi at the newly constructed Tamil Nadu House in Chanakyapuri.

Describing the meeting as a courtesy call, Mr Singh said he also discussed yesterday's Union Cabinet decision for including the OBC creamy layer for reservation in central educational institutions and the Tamil Nadu government's cancellation of the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to professional courses.

He also discussed his proposed visit to Tamil Nadu on December 25-26 for the inauguration of a Tamil Classical Language Research Centre.

He declined to comment on the Union Cabinet rejecting the recommendation of the Parliament Standing Committee, headed by AICC General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi, for keeping the OBC creamy layer away from the purview of reservation.

Mr Arjun Singh, however, made it clear that the Standing Committee's views had no political significance as it had members from various parties. The original Bill, which had the backing of the Congress and its President Sonia Gandhi, had not distinguished the creamy layer, he pointed out.

In the evening, the Chief Minister drove down to the residence of Mr Harkishan Singh Surjeet and met the senior CPI(M) leader. The meeting was described as a courtesy call.

UNI SN VA RS1826