By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: After wining two seats in Tamil Nadu assembly elections while being in an alliance with Jayalalithaa’a AIADMK, MMK chief, Prof. MH Jawahirullah talks about the priorities of his party in a telephonic interview with Md. Ali of TwoCircles.net.
Boycotted Jayalalithaa’s swearing in ceremony
Well, if any small political party starts its relationship with boycotting the swearting in ceremony of its big alliance partner, then political experts might regard it as “not a good beginning” for the smaller party. But Prof. Jawahirullah doesn’t mind talking about the fact that when Narendra Modi attended Jayalalitha’s swearing in ceremony, then Jawahirulla along with the other MLAs of his party MMK, didn’t attend the function. Though as per the compulsion of the political alliance, Jawahirulla avoids calling it a “boycott.”
Prof. MH Jawahirullah
But he specefically points out that he will soon be meeting Amma. Talking about the road ahead for MMK, Jawahirulla in a typical political jargon points out, “we will sit in opposition and will play the role of a constructive opposition.”
Will raise issues of importance
Jawahirulla, who calls himself “not a professional politician” counts the issues of importance to Muslims and also that of MMK constituencies which the party legislatures are planning to raise in the near future. Foremost among them is raising the percentage of Muslim reservation in the state which is at present 3.5%. Jayalalithaa, Jawahirulla adds, on several occasions during the campaign, promised to appoint a commission which will have a fresh look at the percentage of reservation. So the MMK is going to take up this issue.
Second most important issue which the MMK is going to raise is the issue of Urdu and Arabic — the two languages which have been relegated to the category of optional in the common equitable education system. On this issue also the MMK chief quotes Amma promising to restore them to their old status.
Besides these issues, the issues related to the constituencies of the MMK legislatures are also high on the agenda of the party. For instance in Ramanathapuram, Jawahirulla’s constituency, torture of fishermen by the Sri Lankan army is a big issue. The Sri Lankan army not only tortures fishermen but also kills them on small pretexts. Jawahirulla will try to take up their problems with not only the state government but will also lobby with it to take up the issue with the government of India.