“Karunanidhi never support to the LTTE, He is Genuine Leader”

(December, 18, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Terming Tamilnadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's eulogy praising slain LTTE leader S P Thamilchelvan as an 'isolated incident', the Congress on Monday said that the relations between the party and DMK have 'not been strained' over the issue.

'Absolutely the relationship between Congress and DMK has not been strained. DMK leader Karunanidhi never supported LTTE.

He only wrote an eulogy on a particular person (Thamilchelvan),' AICC media department chairman Veerappa Moily told PTI.

The DMK chief had written a poem eulogising the LTTE political wing leader soon after his killing in an air strike by Sri Lankan Air Force on 2 November.

It was an 'isolated incident', Moily said and added that it cannot be taken as an attitude towards the LTTE.

'We cannot generalise things. Karunanidhi never stood for the LTTE. He has even taken action against the people who have supported the organisation. There is no confusion on this issue.'

'The Congress will neither forgive nor forget the killing of our beloved leader Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE, which is banned in India, and the party stands for it,' Moily said.

He also said the Congress don't think that Karunanidhi will have a different view on this issue.

On the infighting within the Tamilnadu Congress Committee and recent attack on youth Congress chief Mayura S Jayakumar, Moily admitted that the incidents were the outcome of the delay in reconstituting the party in the southern state.

'The incident has happened because it is too long that the TNCC has been reorganised. Once the committees are reconstituted at all levels everybody will get a space to work,' Moily said, adding everything would be settled soon.

On party MLA and TNCC president Krishnaswamy's son M K Vishnuprasad complaining to the police against Union Minister G K Vasan of 'instigating' an attack on him, Moily said: 'These sorts of incidents are highly condemnable. Any person belonging to the party going to the media openly or complaining to police about a colleague or a leader is extremely bad'.

In a warning to party cadre and leaders, he said these kinds of acts would be severely dealt with and the high command will not tolerate indiscipline at any level in the state unit.

The former Karnataka chief minister also said the Congress high command has advised all the Union Ministers belonging to the party to visit the party headquarters whenever they go to a state capital and interact with cadres.

On the power-sharing demand by the Congress MLAs in Tamilnadu, Moily, who was the in-charge for party affairs in the state during the 2006 Assembly polls, said, 'There was no pre-poll agreement with the DMK on joining the ministry. But when they did not get an absolute majority, Congress MLAs raised the issue of joining the cabinet.'

'However it is up to the high command and the DMK leadership to decide on the issue.' The Congress leader also expressed satisfaction over the investigation into the attack on Krishnaswamy.

(Agencies & PTI report)