Author:
Publication: Indo-Asian News Service
Date: August 29, 2004
About 3,000 slogan-shouting activists
of the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) Sunday courted arrest
when police stopped them from marching to Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha's
residence.
The marchers were protesting Jayalalitha's
reported comments ridiculing the Andhra Pradesh government's five percent
reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for Muslims.
The TMMK protesters also demanded
the introduction of a similar measure in Tamil Nadu.
"Chief Minister Jayalalitha has
not only opposed separate reservation for Muslims but also ridiculed the
concept in a recent press conference," the TMMK leadership said in a statement.
"She has also alleged that the minority
community in India enjoy more benefits than the majority community. The
comments of the chief minister have hurt the sentiments of the minority
communities, particularly the Muslims."
Today, the Marina beachfront was
awash with thousands of protestors led by leaders of TMMK -- a non-political
outfit with two million members -- who attempted to go in a procession
to picket the Poes Garden residence of the chief minister.
The TMMK statement also said: "The
(job reservation) measure had been recommended by the state minority commission
during Jayalalitha's earlier tenure as chief minister."
