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Puducherry Assembly flays attack on Tamils

PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry Assembly on Wednesday adopted a unanimous resolution expressing concern over the attack on the Tamils in Karnataka by Kannada outfits protesting against the Hogenakkal drinking water supply project.

The resolution, moved by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, urged the Centre and Karnataka government to take necessary steps to safeguard the Tamils and protect their property.

Leader of the Opposition A.M.H. Nazeem said the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) members wholeheartedly welcomed the Union Territory’s stand on the issue. In the absence of an elected government in Karnataka, the Centre should act directly and advise the State government with a view to ensuring the implementation of the drinking water project in Tamil Nadu.

V.M.C. Sivakumar (DMK) expressed dismay over the parochial approach adopted by some outfits in Maharashtra and Karnataka. He criticised the Karnataka government for raking up unnecessary disputes with Tamil Nadu. The attack on the Tamils ran counter to the country’s unity, he said.

Welcoming the resolution, leader of the Pattali Makkal Katchi R.K.R. Anantharaman said that as a mark of protest against the attack on the Tamils in Karnataka, all the three members of the party had come to the Assembly in black shirts. Leader of the Puducherry Munnetra Congress K. Lakshminarayanan supported the resolution. The violence let loose against the Tamils in Karnataka posed a threat to the national integration, he said.

Leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam A. Anbalagan and his party member Omsakthi Sekar said the Hogenakkal scheme was conceived during the previous AIADMK rule in Tamil Nadu.

Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister A. Namassivayam said the incidents of violence in Karnataka only showed that some forces that had been trying to divide the country on the communal lines now attempted to use the issue of sharing water to achieve their goal.

R.Viswanathan (Communist Party of India) charged some Kannada outfits with launching a planned attack on the Tamils. Even while extending support to the resolution, he pleaded with the Centre to prevent recurrence of such attacks in any part of the country.

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