Tamil Nadu Chief Minister wants Delhi to change course

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 June 2011, 13:20 GMT]
“The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly has recently passed a resolution urging the Government of India to initiate action by working with other nations for the imposition of an economic embargo on the Government of Sri Lanka, until the Tamils who are now living in camps are resettled in their own places and are allowed to live with dignity and with equal constitutional rights on par with the Sinhalese,” Ms. Jayalalithaa said in her memorandum to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Tamil Nadu CM, who met the Indian PM on Tuesday told him that Sri Lankan Navy was harassing and torturing the Tamil Nadu fishermen and demanded cancellation of ferry service which was started Monday between Tutucorin in Tamil Nadu and Colombo. The memorandum submitted to Indian PM said on the resumption of ferry service that it “will not be advisable and it will be against the sentiments of the people.”

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said she discussed plight of Eezham Tamils at length with Indian PM and National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon.

Ms. Jayalalithaa told the Indian PM that she was opposed to the Indian government's 1974 decision to cede to Colombo the Kachchatheevu island arguing that it was carried out without the concurrence of the Indian parliament. She also cited her earlier legal move that challenged the Indian decision at the Supreme Court.

Asked by reporters whether she would be opting for an alliance with Congress, she said Congress was still having an alliance with the DMK in the Centre. For a question on whether she would meet Ms. Sonia Gandhi, she said: “it would not be appropriate to meet Sonia Gandhi”.

At the same time, Ms. Jayalalithaa has demanded that Indian Home Minister P. Chidamparam should resign. Mr. Chidambaram was elected in an alleged fraudulent election from the Sivakangkai constituency in Tamil Nadu on Congress ticket, she alleged.

“He has not won the election. In fact he lost the election” she told reporters. Mr. Chidamparam's position in the cabinet was “untenable” she said adding that Mr Chidambaram has “played a fraud on the nation.”

She also demanded the Indian PM to sack Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK on corruption charges.

IANS reported Jayalalithaa as saying on her archrival in Tamil Nadu: "The DMK is facing the heat today, the DMK supremo's family is facing the heat today. Many of the DMK leaders and leading lights of the party are facing a slew of corruption cases. Some are in jail, many more are likely to go to jail."

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