The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Centre must have the last word: Vaiko

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 21, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Centre must have the last word: Vaiko

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI, AUG. 20. The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam wants the Centre to have the final say on starting a ferry service between Tuticorin and Colombo, against the backdrop of the State Government's opposition on grounds of security.

Talking to mediapersons here today, the general secretary, Vaiko, said the service was imperative for the development of commerce and budget tourism. He dismissed fears of infiltration by Sri Lankan Tamil millitants. Had they so desired, the militants could have sneaked in even otherwise, he said, pointing out that the police had neither made out a case nor confirmed smuggling of a single weapon over the past 12 years.

Mr. Vaiko said he had accepted an invitation by two Sri Lankan Tamil members of Parliament to accompany a delegation of 22 Sri Lankan MPs meeting the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, shortly for improving relations between the two countries.

On the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's criticism of the coduct of the function to release a postage stamp in honour of the late Union Minister, Murasoli Maran, Mr. Vaiko said it was the prerogative of the organisers to decide the list of special invitees. He recalled that as chairman of a committee for release of stamps in honour of personalities including actor Sivaji Ganesan, Veerapandia Kattabomman, and P.S. Kumararaja, he decided the invitees himself.

Asked whether the Assembly elections would be advanced, Mr. Vaiko said though such talk was speculation, there was quite a possibility as the ``Chief Minister goes by astrology.''

Earlier in the day, Mr. Vaiko inspected a guard of honour presented by the MDMK's uniformed cadres accompanying him in his Tirunelveli-Chennai renaissance walk. He planted a sapling near the Ariyamangalam roundtana. Later he left for Thanjavur.

Why this brouhaha?

Addressing a public meeting at Ariyamangalam late last night, Mr. Vaiko expressed his amazement at the brouhaha created by the Bharatiya Janata Party over the reported remarks of the Union Petroleum Minister, Mani Shankar Iyer, on the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamseval Sangh) ideologue, Veer Savarkar, and asserted that he was in fact named an accused in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case. On ties with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Mr. Vaiko said ``though a decade had passed since he parted ways with that party, I still love the DMK.'' He likened his renaissance walk to the one undertaken by `Pattukottai' Azhagiri (one of the stalwarts of the Dravidian movement.)

The cultural degradation of the State got reflected in replacement of ``anna'' with ``amma" in political parlance, said Mr. Vaiko.

Arrives in Thanjavur dt.

Mr. Vaiko entered Thanjavur district and was accorded a warm reception at Pudukudi. He proceeded to Sengipatti where he addressed a public meeting.

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