Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Pranab-Karunanidhi meeting a “farcical drama”: Jayalalithaa

CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Tuesday described as “farcical drama” the meeting between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to discuss the problems of the Sri Lankan Tamils.

In a statement here, Ms Jayalalithaa said Mr Karunanidhi was apparently unaware that India could not interfere in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka.

“His misconception was cleared by no less an authority than the External Affairs Minister of India. Convinced that nothing more could be done for the Tamils in Sri Lanka he decided not to hand in the resignation letters of all his party MPs. Thereby, he averted a crisis for the Centre. And in return, the Congress will ensure that the party’s Tamil Nadu MLAs, who sustain Mr Karunanidhi’s minority Government in power today, will behave,” she added.

Ms Jayalalithaa said Mr Karunanidhi had conveniently forgotten all about the thousands of Tamils who had been rendered homeless or been displaced by the ongoing war in Sri Lanka.

“He forgot about the nearly five hundred Tamil fishermen, who have been shot dead by the Sri Lankan Navy. He forgot about the constant problems being encountered by fishermen from the south Tamil Nadu coast around Katchatheevu,” she said.

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