CHENNAI, March 6, 2013
The conference is to be
held in Delhi on March 7
Seeking to dispel the
impression that the Congress is indifferent to popular sentiment in Tamil Nadu
on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, party MPs and Union Ministers have briefed AICC
vice-president Rahul Gandhi about the need to participate in the Tamil Eelam
Supporters Organisation (TESO) conference to be held in Delhi on March 7.
The meeting of Congress
Ministers and MPs from the State with Mr. Gandhi came a few days after DMK
Parliamentary Party leader T.R. Baalu and Rajya Sabha member MP Kanimozhi met
him.
“There is no word
officially yet about our participation. Mr. Rahul Gandhi has asked AICC general
secretary Gulam Nabi Azad to discuss the issue with party president Sonia
Gandhi to take a decision,” TNCC president B.S. Gnanadesikan told The Hindu.
He, however, made it
clear that the Congress would not subscribe to the DMK’s view that a separate
‘Tamil Eelam alone would be a solution to Sri Lankan Tamil question.
“We are with the Tamils
and want to secure rights for them on a par with the Sinhalese. But we want to
achieve everything within a united Sri Lanka. We told Mr. Rahul Gandhi that we
should participate in the [TESO] conference and reiterate our views,” Mr
Gnanadesikan said.
Congress MP K.S.
Alagiri, representing Cuddalaore Lok Sabha Constituency, said it was his
personal opinion that the Congress needed a platform to articulate its views on
Sri Lankan Tamils issue and that TESO could provide one.
“We cannot sit with
Vaiko or Nedumaran or some other groups and discuss the Tamil issue. We are
against the LTTE; we are against its leader Prabakaran and we are also against
a separate Eelam. But we are with the Tamil people,” Mr Alagiri said.
Reiterating that if only
the Indo-Sri Lankan accord of 1987 had been allowed to be implemented, it would
have secured the Tamils in the country a state like Tamil Nadu, Mr. Alagiri
said Rajiv Gandhi’s efforts were brought to nought by the LTTE.
“Now we need a platform
to campaign for the rights of the Tamils and I feel TESO could fulfill our
objective,” he said.
Union Ministers P.
Chidambaram, G.K. Vasan and Jayanthi Natarajan were among those who were part
of the delegation that met Mr. Gandhi.
Sources in the DMK said
Mr. Gandhi was very receptive and was keen on maintaining rapport with the
party’s regional allies in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections due next year.
