Urging the Centre to take steps to ensure that the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in elite educational institutions is implemented, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi cautioned today that there might be mass protests in the country otherwise.

The Centre should not allow such a situation to develop and act in advance, Karunanidhi said, replying to a calling attention motion by various parties on the issue. “We have to tell the world that a situation in which two or three persons (referring to the judiciary) could determine the fate of 100 crore people could cause great harm to democracy,” he added.

Protests against the court’s decision, putting off implementation of the quota by at least a year, echoed in the state Assembly today.

Reservation is a major political issue in the state, and Tamil Nadu had observed a statewide bandh, backed by the DMK government, after the Supreme Court’s first order staying quota on March 29.

Tamil Nadu itself has 69 per cent reservation in education. Recently, the DMK government also announced “exclusive reservation” for Christians and Muslims in government services and educational institutions.

Last night, Karunanidhi dashed off letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh and Law Minister H R Bhardwaj, demanding that both Houses of Parliament be convened to “immediately discuss and take appropriate and timely decisions” on the quota issue. He said PMK leader S Ramadoss, an ally, had even threatened an agitation and had invited the DMK to join it. “The reservation policy is in our blood. So, I replied that we would all start the agitation together. A time will come for it soon,” the Chief Minister warned.

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