AIADMK leader denies MDMK MP's claim

Chennai, Dec 20 (UNI) The All India Anna DMK (AIADMK) today flayed its alliance party leader, MDMK Presidium Chairman L Ganesan, MP for his statement in Parliament that Former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran did nothing on the reservation issue.

In a statement here, AIADMK Headquarters Secretary K A Sengottaiyan said Mr Ganesan, while participating in the debate in Parliament on 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, gave a false information to the House that MGR did nothing on the reservation issue.

It was during his tenure in 1980 that MGR had brought progressive amendments to the reservation act and provided for 50 per cent reservation for the Backward Classes and 18 per cent for the Scheduled Caste, the AIADMK leader said.

If the total reservation for Backward Classes and Scheduled Caste stood at 49 per cent during the DMK regime in 1971, MGR had hiked it to 68 per cent in 1980, Mr Sengottaiyan said adding the Former Chief Minister had hiked the reservation for the Backward Classes from 31 per cent to 50 per cent.

When the Supreme court passed an order, restricting the reservation to 50 per cent in 1993, the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa prevailed upon the Centre to make amendments in the ninth schedule of the constitution and paved way for the implementation of 69 per cent reservation, he said.

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