DMK, allies join hands to protest against Tamil killings in Lanka

Senior DMK leaders, including Finance Minister K Anbazhagan and Power Minister Arcot N Veerasamy, CPI state secretary D Pandian and PMK founder S Ramadoss, led from the front, standing drenched in the heavy rain, holding hands. Also, estranged member of the Karunanidhi family, former Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran took part in the human chain.

Apart from the DMK, leaders and cadres of erstwhile allies PMK, CPI and VCK and the nascent outfit launched by actor-politician Sarath Kumar, AISMK, took part in the protest along with college students and general public.

However, more than the participation by hundreds, it was the non-participation of the Congress party that became a subject of discussion. Though the party toed a line similar to the DMK and even expressed support to the human chain initiative when it was first announced, its leaders soon backtracked when the pro-Lankan Tamil nature of the protest slowly gave way to an atmosphere of pro-LTTE sloganeering.

The comments in favour of the proscribed Tigers, made by few smaller DMK allies like VCK, opposition party MDMK and few film personalities, said to be close to the DMK ideology, further alienated the Congress, which is yet consider LTTE as a representative of Tamils in Lanka after the assassination of former Prime Minister and Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi.

Following strong voices of protest from the Congress and also from Opposition leader J Jayalalithaa of AIADMK, the state Government had arrested MDMK leader Vaiko on Thursday.

Even as the party welcomed the arrest, the TNCC demanded the arrest of film directors Bharathi Raja, Seeman and Amir, who allegedly made seditious speech during a protest rally organised by Kollywood on the same issue at the coastal town of Rameshwaram on October 19. The party also sought action against VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan for his pro-LTTE speeches. The irked Congress camp was further ruffled by an attack on a statue of Rajiv Gandhi in north Chennai by unidentified persons on Thursday night. Congress workers took out a protest rally across the city on Friday afternoon.