DMK pulls out of SL delegation

CHENNAI: In what could be perceived as a major snub for the UPA government, its alliance partner DMK, on Sunday, walked out of the Parliamentary delegation scheduled to visit Sri Lanka to assess the plight of the Tamil population.This closely followed a similar stand taken by the AIADMK, which dropped out of the delegation on April 11. Chief Minister and party’s general secretary, J Jayalalithaa, had commented that the visit was an “eyewash” and mere formality to create an opinion in favour of the island nation.Replying to reporters on whether the tour by the delegation would help improve the livelihood of the Tamil population, Karunanidhi said: “There are examples in the past that tell us that such delegations would not serve any useful purpose. Therefore, the DMK will not be part of the delegation.”The DMK patriarch also pointed out that the party never had any plans to join the team. “It is wrong to ask whether the DMK will join the delegation as per plan. It never had any plans to join the team,” he said.With both the major Dravidian parties dropping out of the tour, the representation of MPs from Tamil Nadu in the delegation has come down to five – one from the CPI(M) and four from Congress.While Karunanidhi did not elaborate on the specific reasons for his party abstaining from the tour, Jayalalithaa had observed that the agenda of the visit did not provide much scope for interaction with the war-affected population. “Much importance is being given to meetings and banquets with Lankan political leaders and officials,” she had observed in a statement.The delegation, headed by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, is slated to visit Sri Lanka between April 16 and 21.Meanwhile, MDMK general secretary Vaiko echoed the views of Jayalalithaa and said that the whole visit was a drama enacted by the Centre. He said that Tamils were living in fear as the entire North and East of the country had been militarized. For his part, VCK chief Thirumavalavan said that the delegation must examine the ground reality of Tamils in Lanka.