Congress raises alarm over pro-LTTE wave in Tamil Nadu
[Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - 11.05 GMT]  

The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) has informed the party high command about the hail LTTE meetings in Tamil Nadu, particularly the one organized by a DMK ally, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) Last Friday (January 25) demanding the lifting of the ban on LTTE, Express News Service of India reported today (January 29).

According to the article the TNCC president has informed Arun Kumar, MP and CWC member in-charge of Tamil Nadu, about the meeting in Chennai on Friday night and about several political and non-political organisations praising the LTTE and its leader, Prabhakaran.

Despite its posturing about coming down hard on members of any organisation supporting banned outfits by way of meetings and rallies, the DMK Government has not initiated any move against ally VCK whose leaders hailed the LTTE and its chief, describing them as “the only beacon of hope” for the “suffering Tamils” in Sri Lanka.

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The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee has informed the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leadership about the hail LTTE meetings in Tamil Nadu, particularly the recent one organised by a DMK ally, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi led by Thol Thirumavalavan, demanding the lifting of the ban on the Tiger outfit.

“The TNCC president has informed Arun Kumar, MP and CWC member in-charge of Tamil Nadu, about the VCK meeting in Chennai on Friday night and about several political and non-political organisations praising the LTTE and its leader, Prabhakaran,” said a party source.

Despite its posturing about coming down hard on members of any organisation supporting banned outfits by way of meetings and rallies, the DMK Government has not initiated any move against ally VCK whose leaders hailed the LTTE and its chief, describing them as “the only beacon of hope” for the “suffering Tamils” in Sri Lanka. The VCK has a sizeable support among Dalit voters in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the TNCC has written a letter to Chief Minister M Karunanidhi expressing its ‘anguish’ about the ‘open support’ for the LTTE in Tamil Nadu and the ‘severe mental strain” this is causing to its leaders. Incidentally, TNCC president M Krishnasamy happens to be the father-in-law of Union Minister Anbumani Ramadoss whose party Pattali Makkal Katchi is another strident LTTE backer.

In his letter to the Chief Minister on Monday, Krishnasamy, pleaded for ‘stern action’ against those supporting the banned terrorist outfit. Without specifying any organisation by name, the TNCC chief said in the past two months, some political as well as non-political organisations had expressed support openly for the LTTE at public meetings and through the media.

“They were also making statements demeaning the Congress. This has hurt the sentiments of not only the Congressmen in the state, but the feelings of the people as well,” he said, adding: “Our senior leaders are under severe mental strain due to these comments. I request you to take action against those responsible for this.”

When Karunanidhi wrote an elegy for Tamilselvan in November last, members of the TNCC Legislature Party passed a resolution saying the DMK chief’s tribute for the LTTE leader killed in an aerial attack in Sri Lanka, “brought tears of blood to their eyes.”

The AICC too soft-pedaled the issue, passing a resolution in its November session saying that any support to the LTTE was “bound to hurt the sentiments of Congressmen”.