Sri Lankan Tamils row: As DMK exits,govt says no threat,Mamata lends hand

“Trinamool is deeply concerned about the sentiments expressed by our Tamil brothers & sisters. We share their sentiments & are fully with them,” the party said on Twitter,adding that “from the beginning,on matters of external affairs,our policy has been to stand by the central government”.

The tweet suggested that the Trinamool would stand by whatever position the government takes on the US-backed resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC,which is likely to come up for a vote in Geneva Thursday. A PTI report said parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath had spoken to Banerjee before TMC made the statement.

In the morning,at a press conference he addressed in Delhi along with finance minister P Chidambaram and I&B minister Manish Tewari,Nath had declared,“The government is neither lame nor a duck. It is absolutely stable. No political party has challenged our majority.”

The ministers said the government had begun talks with parties on a Parliamentary resolution on the Lankan Tamil issue,a move they claimed was linked not to the sentiments of “eight crore” Tamils in Tamil Nadu rather than the demands made by the DMK.

Chidambaram spoke at length in Tamil,clearly addressing an audience in his home state. He said the government wanted UNHRC to adopt a strong resolution,underscored remarks made by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the issue on Tuesday,and stressed that the Congress itself was keen to bring a resolution in Parliament.

“Every political party represents sections of the people. The Congress has always stood by the rights of Tamils,which is why we are trying to move a resolution in Parliament… It has got nothing to do with the DMK pulling out. The question is of Tamil sentiments being articulated,” Chidambaram said.

He also dismissed as a “canard” the allegations that India had sought a dilution of the US resolution. The finance minister,who was part of the team that met DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Monday night,wondered why the DMK had changed its position after promising to reconsider the decision to withdraw support if the government moved the resolution.

Nath said he had begun talks with political parties and hoped that despite divergent views over the wording of the resolution,a consensus would be found.

The primary objective of the press conference,though,seemed clearly to be to dispel any impression that the government was in danger. The decision to send out this message was taken at the Congress core group meeting late Tuesday night and,sources said,Chidambaram was keen to meet reporters as early as possible. Sources said he had wanted a 9 am briefing but agreed to push it back by an hour.

“The government will last its full term. We will be taking decisions as we have been doing so. If there is any test of stability,that will take place on the floor of the house,” Nath said.

Chidambaram added that the changed political situation would not impact the passage of legislation. “There is no political instability,there is no political uncertainty. Just because one ally pulled out,the government does not become weak. We have a duty to steer the ship even if there is a storm. There will be enough support for each Bill in Parliament. Nobody has questioned our stability except for a few voices in the media,” he said.

Asked if the UPA was looking for other allies,Manish Tewari said “doors and windows are always open in a parliamentary democracy”.