The Hindu : Sympathetic Sivakasi missing Vaiko

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 27, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Sympathetic Sivakasi missing Vaiko

By S. Vijay Kumar

SIVAKASI APRIL 26. One year after the arrest of the MDMK general secretary, Vaiko, the mood in his `firecracker' constituency reflects a consolidation of sympathy for the MP, who along with eight party functionaries, was taken into custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Routine activities of the party, including strengthening of its base, continue and the MP office also functions as usual. Petitioners keep coming with various grievances which are forwarded to authorities. Papers, which require the signature of Mr. Vaiko, are forwarded to the Vellore prison, where he is lodged.

``Last month, he recommended financial assistance from the Prime Minister's relief fund to 105 children, who urgently need life-saving surgeries in Virudhunagar district,'' says R. S. Sampath, who manages his office in Sivakasi.

However, industrialists feel let down in his absence, because they believe the five-time MP would have represented their grievances to the Government for tax relief and other sops. ``We are meeting him at regular intervals and apprising him of the developments in the constituency,'' he said.

Even as the party is pinning its hopes on the Supreme Court to secure the release of its leader, Mr. Vaiko's letter in the latest issue of the party organ, Sangoli, narrating how he suffered with incessant cough and cold in his tiny cell, has caused concern over his health.

Free hepatitis-B camps, organised by Mr. Vaiko, benefiting thousands of children in the district, besides orthopaedic camps, appear to have gained support for the MP beyond party lines. A group of youth in Rajapalayam, associated with the City Youth Club, has erected hoardings around the railway station, saying the newly-laid Virudhunagar-Rajapalayam broad gauge line should be inaugurated only in the presence of Mr. Vaiko as ``he was an instrumental in getting the project sanctioned''.

The Sivakasi Region Tax Payers' Association also wrote to the MP on April 22, lauding his efforts at getting the project, but expressed its disappointment at the scheme being inaugurated in his absence.

With just a year left for the Lok Sabha elections, the MDMK workers have already started reaching out to the people, holding streetcorner meetings, pasting posters and distributing leaflets, explaining why the arrest was unjustified. A recent Statewide, all-party agitation condemning the POTA arrests has pepped up the morale of cadres.

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