Prabhakaran no terrorist: Karunanidhi

Much to the unease of the Congress,M Karunanidhi,the head of its southern ally the DMK,on Sunday called Velupillai Prabhakaran....

Much to the unease of the Congress,M Karunanidhi,the head of its southern ally the DMK,on Sunday called Velupillai Prabhakaran a good friend who is not a terrorist. In an interview to NDTV,the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister also said he would be saddened if the LTTE chief was killed in the ongoing war in Sri Lanka.

With the plight of Lankan Tamils an emotive issue in Tamil Nadu,the Congress,however,stopped short of outright condemnation. Party spokesperson Kapil Sibal said the DMK chiefs remarks were his personal opinion,but added that the Congress still viewed Prabhakaran as a terrorist and his outfit an extremist organisation.

In the interview,Karunanidhi said the LTTE has genuine and legitimate goals of creating an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka,but certain methods adopted by it are wrong. Prabhakaran is my good friend. I am not a terrorist, Karunanidhi said.

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When daughter and DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi,who was also present during the interview,interjected by asking whether he saw Prabhakaran as a terrorist,Karunanidhi replied in Tamil,said: I dont see that way.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister sought to defend Prabhakaran,saying it is not the LTTE chiefs fault if some of his men had taken to terrorism. Karunanidhi said the only time he had differences with Prabhakaran was when the LTTE chief said,in an interview,he would not allow democracy to thrive if he achieved the Tamil Eelam.

Abhishek Singhvi,another Congress spokesperson,said the UPA Government values its long association with the DMK. We have a valuable ally and a partner in Tamil Nadu,but that cannot mean our unequivocal established policy (on LTTE) can change.

Meanwhile,the BJP used the opportunity to attack the Congress,saying it cannot whisk away the issue as it had withdrawn support to the United Front Government in 1997 after the Jain Commission indicted Karunanidhi in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. (With PTI)

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