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Journalism of Courage
Even as the LTTE controversy threatens to kick up dust in Tamil Nadu politics, a brief meeting between Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Intelligence Bureau chief P C Haldar has triggered speculation. Haldar called on Karunanidhi under the cover of a police function in the city. State officials, however, maintained that the meeting was only a “courtesy call”.
While details of their deliberations are not known, the meeting assumes significance coming as it does in the wake of a furious outburst by Karunanidhi, at a wedding function, against the Congress for levelling accusations that his Government is facilitating LTTE activities in the state.
What angered the DMK patriarch more was Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s speech at a Nagercoil meeting, where he said LTTE activities were “going on unhindered” in Tamil Nadu and that the DMK Government should “nip its activities in the bud”. Dismissing Chidambaram’s charge, Karunanidhi in a statement on Monday said that in the past 20 months of the DMK rule, 12 cases related to smuggling of arms to help the LTTE had been filed. More than 100 people, including 11 LTTE cadres and 92 supporters, had been arrested. As many as 40 had been detained under the National Security Act. “Aren’t these evidences of nipping their activities in the bud?” asked Karunanidhi.
At the wedding function on Sunday, Karunanidhi told his allies that he was ready to demit office. “Are you going to make a baseless charge against us, an allegation that is not true, and get the Government dismissed?” he asked, adding that he was “prepared” to face anything. “But this is not good for Tamil Nadu and its people.”
Meanwhile, TNCC president M Krishnasamy hurriedly convened a media meet to declare that he had not blamed the state Government for any failure. Congress leaders had merely “raised concerns” about outfits extending support to the LTTE, he said.
