Rejecting charges of irregularities in the allotment of land under the discretionary quota, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, today hit back at the Janata Party chief, Mr Subramanian Swamy, for seeking sanction for his prosecution on the issue, saying he was trying to “twist facts.”

A day after Mr Swamy filed a petition with the Governor, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, seeking sanction to prosecute Mr Karunanidhi, the DMK patriarch made a submission in the Assembly, saying the discretionary quota was not ‘DMK specific’ and had been in vogue even during the tenures of AIADMK.

“Eighty five per cent of allotments were being made through draw of lots of applications for the Tamil Nadu Housing Board lands and houses. The rest had been given under discretionary quota. The plots or houses under both categories had been given at the same price,” Mr Karunanidhi said.

He said plots and houses had been given at market rate to both applicants and beneficiaries under the discretionary quota.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister charged Mr Swamy with trying to twist facts over the issue.

TNHB fixed the price of the land or house based on the current market value or the sub-registrar office guidelines, whichever was higher, he said.

Mr Karunanidhi had, on Sunday, issued a legal notice to Mr Swamy for dragging his name into the 2G spectrum allocation scam. Mr Swamy had yesterday sought sanction for the prosecution of Mr Karunanidhi for allotting land “for a favoured few” under the discretionary quota in alleged violation of rules.

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