Don’t exploit Lankan issue

Chennai Bureau

(January 18, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Tamilnadu Congress Committee president K V Thangkabalu today appealed to political parties not to exploit the Sri Lankan Tamil issue for gaining political mileage. He was referring to the VCK leader staging a fast over the issue.

Making the appeal while speaking to reporters at the TNCC headquarters in Chennai, Thangkabalu said that all parties should raise their voice and cooperate with the initiatives being taken by the Union government.

He said that during the recent visit of Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon to the island nation, the Indian government had made clear its concern for the lives of the Tamils and urged the Sri Lankan government to opt for a political solution to the ethnic issue.

Maintaining that war is not a solution to any problem, he said the Congress-led government at the Centre was pursuing all diplomatic means to bring in a permanent solution.

He clarified that the Indian government was not providing any military assistance to the Sri Lanka government, but was supporting it economically as that would in turn benefit the Tamils living in the nation. - Sri Lanka Guardian