DMK submits petition seeking 10 per cent quota for government school students in Puducherry

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Thursday submitted a petition to Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi seeking her nod to allot 10 per cent quota for government school students in medical courses in Puducherry. A three-member delegation, comprising the DMK's legislature party leader R Siva, convenors of Puducherry and Karaikal district units of the party S P Sivakumar and A M H Nazeem, handed over the petition to Bedi.

Talking to reporters later, Siva said the petition also urged the former IPS officer to hold without further delay recruitment to the post of constables now kept in abeyance. He said the other pleas presented to her were: expeditious sanction of grants to the government-aided private schools as the teachers and retired staff in the schools had not received their salaries and retirement benefits for the last 11 months; reopening of the government-owned textile mills, cooperative sugar mills; and revocation of hike in power tariff.

Nazeem, hailing from Karaikal, said the petition also wanted the intervention of Bedi to expedite running of train service between Karaikal and Peralam. The petition wanted the former IPS officer to allow distribution of rice through fair price shops and disbursement of wages to workers and employees in the territorial government-owned public sector undertakings. Siva said the Lieutenant Governor had assured the team that she would peruse the petitions in consultation with officials and take action. This was the first time that the DMK, which has been supporting the Narayanasamy-headed Congress government from outside, submitted a petition to Bedi seeking her intervention on various issues.