On a day when his party tasted victory in the Thirumangalam Assembly by polls, DMK boss and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on Monday said he will ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to intervene on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and ensure a ceasefire.
”The killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka has afflicted our collective conscience. I will again take up the matter with Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting them to speed up efforts to solve the problem,” Mr Karunanidhi told reporters in Chennai.
His statement came after a meeting with political leaders, including PMK founder S Ramadoss, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol Thirumavalavan and Dravida Kazhagam president Veeramani at his Gopalapuram residence over the Lankan Tamils issue.
Ramadoss said countries like America, Japan and Norway had urged the Sri Lankan government to bring about a ceasefire and wanted to know why the Indian government did not come forward to issue such a statement. “The UPA has violated the CMP. This is a sore issue for us as Tamils,” he said.
Thirumavalavan said the UPA stands to lose “a considerable percentage of votes in Tamil Nadu if it continued to ignore the Tamils’ cry for freedom”.
The Tamil Nadu government had made a “tearful appeal” to the Centre and suggested that external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee travel to Colombo to press for a halt of hostilities in Sri Lanka.
Karunanidhi, who had lead an all party delegation to Delhi last month to meet the Prime Minister on the Lankan Tamils issue, took pot shots at his opponents saying some forces were dragging the name of the LTTE to “divert our voice.”
The DMK on Monday won a crucial Assembly by poll that sealed approval on the 30 month Karunanidhi government, as DMK candidate Latha Adhiyaman defeated AIADMK’s M Muthuramalingam by a whopping 39,266 vote margin.
Deposits of all other candidates, including that of the third-placed Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, were forfeited.
”The killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka has afflicted our collective conscience. I will again take up the matter with Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting them to speed up efforts to solve the problem,” Mr Karunanidhi told reporters in Chennai.
His statement came after a meeting with political leaders, including PMK founder S Ramadoss, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol Thirumavalavan and Dravida Kazhagam president Veeramani at his Gopalapuram residence over the Lankan Tamils issue.
Ramadoss said countries like America, Japan and Norway had urged the Sri Lankan government to bring about a ceasefire and wanted to know why the Indian government did not come forward to issue such a statement. “The UPA has violated the CMP. This is a sore issue for us as Tamils,” he said.
Thirumavalavan said the UPA stands to lose “a considerable percentage of votes in Tamil Nadu if it continued to ignore the Tamils’ cry for freedom”.
The Tamil Nadu government had made a “tearful appeal” to the Centre and suggested that external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee travel to Colombo to press for a halt of hostilities in Sri Lanka.
Karunanidhi, who had lead an all party delegation to Delhi last month to meet the Prime Minister on the Lankan Tamils issue, took pot shots at his opponents saying some forces were dragging the name of the LTTE to “divert our voice.”
The DMK on Monday won a crucial Assembly by poll that sealed approval on the 30 month Karunanidhi government, as DMK candidate Latha Adhiyaman defeated AIADMK’s M Muthuramalingam by a whopping 39,266 vote margin.
Deposits of all other candidates, including that of the third-placed Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, were forfeited.
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