We won't tie Centre's hand, says Karunanidhi

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, MAY 5. After a 90-minute consultation with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, and other senior Union Ministers on the Sri Lankan situation, and on how to deal with the Sri Lankan Government's ``several requests'' for assistance, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, agreed that it was ``the Government of India's privilege to take any appropriate action in the interest of the nation''.

Mr. Karunanidhi came here on Thursday night in response to a request from the Prime Minister. The Chief Minister, accompanied by the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Murasoli Maran, interacted with Mr. Vajpayee this afternoon over lunch. Also participating in the discussion were the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani and the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes.

Mindful of the political ramifications in Tamil Nadu, and at the Centre, of any stance towards Sri Lanka, the Central leadership appeared keen to be seen as deferring to the words of advice from a senior leader and important alliance partner.

While appearing to endorse the Vajpayee Government's stand of ``no military intervention, no arms assistance but only humanitarian assistance'', the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's cryptic statement suggested a slight variance in perception between the Central leaders and the DMK. Mr. Karunanidhi is believed to have pointed out lack of consultation with the Central Ministers from Tamil Nadu before the Government formalised its response to the Sri Lankan crisis.

Referring to the possibility of some kind of ``humanitarian assistance'' to Sri Lanka, Mr. Karunanidhi noted that ``we do not want to tie the hands of the Centre but we should not forget the past''. For good measure, the Chief Minister added ``we do not want any overflow of Sri Lankan matter into Tamil Nadu''. Mr. Jaswant Singh is believed to have briefed the Chief Minister on the exact nature of ``several requests'' from Sri Lanka, and Mr. Karunanidhi appeared satisfied with what he heard from the Central Ministers.

Interacting with reporters after the Vajpayee- Karunanidhi meeting, Mr. Singh reiterated that ``humanitarian assistance could be considered if and when sought but the situation has not arisen yet''.

He also repeated the formulation he made on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha: no question of travelling the IPKF route and no question of Indian military intervention. Mr. Karunanidhi is also reported to be disinclined to lay down any firm line on the question of humanitarian assistance, and it was agreed that the next course of action be decided only after determining how the situation evolved over the next few days.

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