Pondy

April 11 2002

The DMK member, A M H Nazeem, today urged the Govt to ensure that power supply to Karaikal was available without any disruption.

Participating in a debate in the Assembly, Mr. Nazeem said Karaikal was procuring Rs. 10 crores as power tariff every month. But the region was neglected as most of the street-lights were not burning.

He objected to the appointment of the Chief Secretary as the Chairman of the committee constituted for selection of sub-inspectors. All along only the IG of police had been head of the committee. Why there was a sudden change, he asked.

Mr. Nazeem was also sore over most of the files not being placed for the notice of the Chief Minister whenever promotion or posting of police officers were done by the dept. He said police strength should be raised and in Karaikal it was not increased for years together. He also said the uniform sales tax was causing havoc to the Govt. The introduction of Value Added Tax from April next year would add insult to injury. Extra caution should be exercised to tap the revenue potential, he said.

No plan to lift ban on LTTE... PrimeMinister

NEW DELHI

APRIL 11 2002 The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has rejected the request of the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Prabakaran, for lifting the ban on his organisation. He said in response to questions after his return from his five-day visit to Singapore and Cambodia.

Responding to another question, Mr. Vajpayee said the Govt had not received any request from the LTTE ideologue, Anton Balasingham, for transit through India to attend peace talks with the Sri Lankan authorities in Thailand.

Get Prabakaran extradited-Jayalalithaa the chief minister

CHENNAI

April 11 2002

Reactions in Tamil Nadu to yesterday's press conference by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam chief, V. Prabakaran, were on expected lines with the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, seeking his extradition, the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, welcoming the LTTE's statement that India was its fatherland, and the MDMK general secretary suggesting that Sri Lanka now lift the ban on the outfit.

The strongest reaction came from the Chief Minister. Describing the LTTE as ``deadlier'' than the terrorist outfits operating against India from Pakistan, she said if Sri Lanka was unable to extradite Mr. Prabakaran, then it should seek the intervention of the Indian armed forces and bring him to India.

The Govt of India, which wanted Pakistan to extradite 20 terrorists, should not adopt a different a yardstick to Prabakaran. She would write to the Prime Minister, A. B. Vajpayee, asking him to take steps to get the Government of Sri Lanka to extradite Prabakaran. India, she pointed out, had an extradition treaty with Sri Lanka.

``It is outrageous that a leader of a terrorist organisation, who is responsible for the death of millions of people and who has been declared a proclaimed offender by an Indian special court, should be able to walk freely in a friendly country and be treated as a hero by the media,'' she told reporters at the Secretariat here.

Referring to Mr. Prabakaran's appeal not to ``dig up the past'', Ms. Jayalalithaa wondered: ``How can we not dig up the past? He will have to pay for his crimes.'' None on Indian soil could forget the past actions of the LTTE.

Condemning the `casual manner' in which the LTTE leadership tried to brush aside the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the TNCC president, E. V. K. S. Elangovan, wanted Mr. Prabakaran to surrender to India for the ``dastardly crime''.

Mr. Elangovan said after several years the LTTE chief had `surfaced' to the full glare of media publicity. The Govt of India must not hesitate anymore, but impress on Sri Lanka and if need be, other countries, the need for bringing him to justice in India.

Jayakumar's body identified in Kodaikanal

KODAIKANAL

APRIL 11 2002

A search team brought out the highly decomposed body of D. Jayakumar (36), a close associate of the former DMK MLA, M. K. Balan, from a 4,000-foot deep gorge in the Silent Valley here today.

Babu, brother of Jayakumar, identified the decomposed body. Though the Chennai police had summoned Jayakumar's wife to Kodaikanal, she did not come.

The Chennai team reached here on April 7 on the basis of a confession by Samikannu, one of four accused, that they attacked Jayakumar with a wooden pole, slit his throat and threw the body in the valley.

Vasan discusses merger with Sonia in Delhi

New Delhi

April 11 2002

TMC leader G K Vasan, who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha with the support of the Congress, today met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and discussed the issue of merger.

Talking to reporters, Vasan said he had thanked Sonia for her party's support to his candidature to the Upper House and said the merger issue also figured at the meeting.

AICC secretary Ramesh Chennithala, who is in charge of party affairs in Tamil Nadu, said the TMC leader would meet Sonia again next week to discuss the issue.