DMK rule, root cause of all ills in state: Jayakumar

On the appointment of a Kannadiga as the Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, the Minister maintained that the appointment was made by Governor Banwarilal Purohit. “There are enough precedents. It is well within the law,” he reiterated. Asked whether the cabinet was divided over the posting as Law Minister had expressed his displeasure on it, Jayakumar dismissed the allegation while admitting that the issue was emotive. 

Regarding the protests by actors demanding Cauvery Management Board (CMB), the Minister said that the state believes in democracy. “The protest staged by the actors reflected the sentiments and that it deserves appreciation,” he added. 

Responding to the Leader of Opposition MK Stalin’s remarks on the AIADMK being remote controlled by the Centre, the Minister said, “It is the DMK not the AIADMK which played subservient to the Centre for 17 years. We don’t have to be worried like how the DMK tided out the situation.” 

“Our Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has held a meeting of legal experts and has given them clear instructions on advancing arguments in the contempt petition filed by the state. We are pursuing the issue with caution and with a firm stand that the Supreme Court’s final verdict be implemented,” he said.  

"The AIADMK has a long legacy in fighting for state’s rights and this issue began when the oppressing DMK was in power. People will not fall for the false narratives. The DMK, in fact, had been forced by the Centre from renewing the agreement with Karnataka over Cauvery in 1974. They did nothing except from taking orders from the Centre besides urging the farmers’ associations which had then moved the Court to withdraw their petitions,” the Minister recalled delving into the details of the dispute in the past. 

He added that the DMK regime had wronged the state in all aspects including the ceding of Katchatheevu. “All such ills were caused during the DMK period led by M Karunanidhi,” he noted.