Govt disagrees with Karunanidhi to control damage

Govt disagrees with Karunanidhi to control damage
B S NAGARAJ

NEW DELHI, JUNE 5: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's baffling turnaround on the Sri Lankan issue has put India in an embarrassing situation, forcing it to reiterate that the ethnic conflict should be resolved within the framework of the island nation's territorial integrity.

Observers attributed the DMK chief's sudden advocacy of an independent Eelam, after fully backing India's official line all the while, to the compulsions of Tamil Nadu politics.

At a time when two other allies of the BJP and the DMK in Tamil Nadu, the MDMK of Vaiko and the PMK led by S Ramadoss are openly defying the Indian position on Sri Lanka and supporting the cause of the Tamils being espoused by the LTTE, Karunanidhi may have succumbed to their pressure to an extent.

His volte face is being seen as a kind of sop to Vaiko, the most vocal and articulate of Eelam sympathisers. It was on Karunanidhi's appeal that Vaiko deferred his much-publicised rally in support of Eelam scheduled for Monday.

Karunanidhi's afterthought should also be seen in the context of the Assemblyelections due next year and the positions that the two major political groupings in the state have taken on the Lankan issue. While the MDMK and PMK, both aligned with the DMK, are known votaries of Eelam, the rival Congress-AIADMK-TMC combine has taken a strong anti-LTTE stance and does not favour dismemberment of Sri Lanka.

Whatever be the compulsions of the DMK, the MDMK and the PMK, observers feel that their espousal of the Eelam cause may not pay them electoral dividends after all if they continue to be part of the Vajpayee Government. ``If they continue to be in the government while differing with it on the Lankan issue, they will be exposed,'' according to one of them.

But it is a fact that both the DMK and AIADMK have at one point of time or the other over the years supported the LTTE, given the emotive nature of the Tamils' fight for an independent homeland.

The Government, meanwhile, attempted damage control following Karunanidhi's statement in favour of a Czechoslovakia-kind of solution to the Lankan issue. A spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs today said that the ethnic conflict should be resolved within the framework of the island nation's territorial integrity. ``Our stand remains unchanged,'' he added.

The Sri Lankan government has not conveyed any protest to India over the Chief Minister's remarks, the spokesman added.

The BJP also followed suit, with its president Kushabhau Thakre saying that the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka should be maintained. He said Karunanidhi's statement should be seen in the light of the fact that the crisis in Sri Lanka would directly affect Tamil Nadu.

And predictably, the Congress and the Left parties slammed Karunanidhi. They demanded that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should clarify the Indian position on the issue. ``The Prime Minister cannot remain silent when some of the ruling parties are differing with the official line,'' said CPI national secretary D Raja. The CPI(M) politburo said Karunanidhi's statement would have ``serious implications'' for India.