From former AIADMK minister Panruti S Ramachandran to state RJD leader K Jagaveerapandian and Dravidar Kazhagam general secretary K Veeramani, all the speakers hailed the banned LTTE leader and prime accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Velupillai Prabhakaran, as the leader of the Tamils.

Presiding over the function, People's Liberal Party leader Panruti Ramachandran made a fervent plea for lifting the ban on the LTTE, saying: ``Only if the ban is withdrawn, will the Tamil refugees be able to move freely in Tamil Nadu.''

When the British government could make peace with the IRA and Israel sign a peace agreement with Palestinians, why not make peace with the LTTE, he asked. ``We should not allow the crisis in Lanka toaggravate,'' he added.

He said LTTE chief Prabhakaran had clearly stated that he would not interfere in Tamil Nadu politics and hence ``we should not play politics with the Tamil refugees issue.'' RJD state president Jagaveerapandian beat `Panrutiyar' in the `Praise Prabhakaran' campaign. ``Only the LTTE can ensure the triumph of Tamils. ``Vellupillai Prabhakaran is our leader,'' he thundered. Justifying the support for the LTTE, he asked: ``When Bal Thackeray without any fear of law vows to stall cricket matches and incites violence, why should we not support an organisation which works for the cause of the Tamils?''

Not to be found lacking in pro-LTTE sentiments, Veeramani said calling for withdrawal of the ban was not unconstitutional or illegal. He claimed that the ban imposed on the RSS after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination was lifted following a plea by former Advocate General T R Venkatrama Shastri ``on behalf of the RSS''.

For Veeramani, Prabhakaran is not only a leader of the Tamil community butalso his ``younger brother''. He posed: ``When the Government claims that there is no movement of LTTE in the country, where is the need to ban it?''All the three speakers hailed not only Prabhakaran but also M G Ramachandran for his unstinted support to the LTTE. ``He realised that only the LTTE can liberate Tamils,'' they said in unison.

Self-styled Tamil saviour and Tamil Nationalist Party leader Pazha Nedumaran said MGR laid the foundation stone for the Tamil Eelam movement. ``It was during his regime that the LTTE could freely train its cadre and collect donations in Tamil Nadu''.

India, he said, should support the LTTE like in the past as it was a compulsion of the times. ``If India does not, we should start a people's movement to lift the ban on the LTTE,'' he said.