The Hindu : Nedumaran to campaign for DPA

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 21, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Nedumaran to campaign for DPA

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MARCH 20. The Tamil Nationalist leader, P. Nedumaran, today said that he and his associates would campaign for the Democratic Progressive Alliance candidates.

Addressing presspersons after a gap of over a year and a half, he said in the present circumstances, it was necessary to defeat communal and anti-democratic forces. That was the reason for his support to the DPA. The DPA had made secularism and preservation of democracy a campaign theme. (Mr. Nedumaran was held under provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act for over a year and was released recently.)

Answering questions, he said he would not campaign against the Dalit Panthers of India in Chidambaram and the Puthiya Tamizhagam in Tenkasi. In his view both these parties should have been accommodated in the DPA. Mr. Nedumaran said it was not important who became the Prime Minister. The issue here was the preservation of democracy and secularism. The State was under ``undeclared emergency'' and all basic freedom of people had been curtailed, he said. The practice of democracy has been reduced to a joke in local bodies and cooperatives, he alleged and said that a systematic effort was being undertaken to destroy Tamil culture and traditions.

Hence, the Bharatiya Janata Party-All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance should be defeated in the State, he said.

On the Sri Lankan situation, he said he hoped that the people of the island nation would vote to give peace a chance.

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