Tamil Eelam issue not a vote-getter

By Cho S. Ramaswamy

(May 14, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian)  I don’t think the Sri Lankan Tamil issue will influence the voter in Tamil Nadu in any way. The people here have concern for the Sri Lankan Tamils and are keen that they live in peace and dignity but that does not mean that they will vote on that issue, though some leaders have struck high decibels. J. Jayalalithaa is now demanding separate Eelam for the Tamils in Sri Lanka and has even promised to send the Indian Army to achieve it, if her party is voted to power in Delhi.

But before her meeting starts, her Jaya TV anchor goes about asking the crowds why they prefer the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). People list out various reasons, such as price rise, power cuts, unemployment and the law and order problem — all of them local issues. None of them cites the Sri Lankan issue as their vote-decider. Why’s that so?

At best, I feel, this issue lends itself to platform rhetoric, providing the politicians a theme for delivering passionate speeches. Besides, it has also embarrassed the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK); unnecessarily, but it has.

The DMK president M. Karunanidhi, who prides himself as someone who is prepared to lay down his precious life for the Tamils wherever they live, now stands exposed in these circumstances, as his rival Ms Jayalalithaa along with her allies calls him a betrayer of Tamils. That helps her a bit, but people are not going to vote for her just on that score.

Let me ask you, are people going to vote on the Hogenakkal issue (water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka)?

All that was done for this Sri Lankan issue was also done for Hogenakkal water — public demonstrations, bandhs, human chains and even filmstars fasting — but has Hogenakkal had an impact on this election?

Mr Karunanidhi was accused of sacrificing the interests of Tamil Nadu in the Hogenakkal dispute. The opposition parties here charged the Congress of being prejudiced against Tamil Nadu and partial to Karnataka because Congress was ruling that state at that time.

And take the nuclear pact. The Communists almost toppled the Central government on that issue, accusing the Congress of selling the country to the United States. Has that become an election issue now?

I have asked so many people, including some senior journalists such as Mark Tully, who have gone around Tamil Nadu in the last few days, whether this Sri Lankan Tamil issue is sitting heavy on the public mind at this poll time. The answer was "no".

Someone has obviously misled Ms Jayalalithaa that Eelam is going to be a big vote-getter.

(Cho S. Ramaswamy is political analyst and editor of Tughlak)

-Sri Lanka Guardian