Sri Lankan Tamil issue: Karunanidhi hits back at Jayalalithaa

DMK chief M Karunanidhi today hit back at the AIADMK for taking jibes at him regarding the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and said he gave up his 'fast unto death' demanding ceasefire at the height of the 2009 war only on the Centre's assurance that use of heavy artillery and aerial weapons would be halted.

Responding to AIADMK Executive launching a tirade against him by describing his 2009 "fast unto death" as a drama, Karunanidhi quoted then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherji's statement that Sri Lanka had informed India that security forces were instructed to end the use of heavy caliber guns, combat aircraft and aerial weapons with the military prioritising rescue of stranded civilians.

"How can one not believe when a Central Minister himself says so? Jayalalityhaa is trying to malign me," he said writing in party mouthpiece Murasoli.

The AIADMK executive on Monday had said the DMK took up the Sri Lankan Tamils' cause only when it was out of power and charged Karunanidhi with focussing his resources towards his "family's welfare" while heading the government.

Hitting back at Jayalalithaa, he said it was she who had said casualties were common in a conflict and on an earlier occassion demanded the extradition of LTTE chief V Prabhakaran by moving a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

He said she had also opposed any move to allow LTTE's then political advisor Anton Balasingam to receive medical treatment in any part of India even on humanitarian grounds.

He recalled his various efforts to mitigate the sufferings of the Lankan Tamils and demanding India's role in this regard, such as holding a massive human chain in Chennai, sending telegrams to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and even convening an all-party meeting in 2008 when he was Chief Minister, which he said was boycotted by Jayalalithaa.