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NT Bureau
Chennai, Jan 13:

        Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today held the AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa responsible for the 'current status of not being able to directly and authoritatively implement the 69 per cent reservation' in the State.

        Joining issue with the former Chief Minister for demanding his resignation over the apex court judgment on 9th schedule laws, Karunanidhi in an official release here today said the previous AIADMK government was responsible for the impasse where a 'direct and authoritative reservation of 69 per cent in the State was not possible.' The then AIADMK government failed to explain in the Sampath Kumar case in the Supreme Court in 1994 about the 1993 Tamilnadu Act which envisaged 69 per cent reservation, Karunanidhi said.

        Blaming the AIADMK chief for faulting the Central and State governments for the judgment of the apex court, he said Jayalalithaa was 'pretending to be interested in reservation issue only to hoodwink the people.' Fomer Attorney general Soli Sorabjee, former Solicitor general Andi Arjuna and former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani were engaged by the government to appear on behalf of the State in the case.

        The interests of the oppressed was threatened because of the judgment that there should be no reservation beyond 50 per cent. Chief Ministers of all the States were also impressed upon the need to implead themselves in the case to protect the interests of the oppressed people, he said.

        'Even when the DMK was in the opposition it was stressed that the States should have for itself the right and power to decide the extent of reservation on the basis of the population. The Central government also handled the matter with due care and sensitivity. This is evident from the argument between the apex court judge and the lawyer for the Union'. 'But the statement of Jayalalithaa faulting the State and Central governments in the issue stems from incoherence and it is only to beguile the people and earn political mileage,' the Chief Minister said and added that such intentions would never succeed.