The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu is trying to make up for lost ground on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, with Chief Minister M Karunanidhi saying he has taken up the task of securing separate Eelam for the Lankan Tamils.
Not wanting to lose out on the Tamils issue, which had been highlighted as a major poll plank by the Opposition, Mr Karunanidhi said, ''We have provided some sort of solace to the Lankan Tamils and we should strive to secure them their next due -- separate Eelam.'' ''I have taken up the task of securing separate Eelam to the Tamils,'' he said, while appealing to the party cadres from his hospital bed to work for the victory of the DMK-led front in the May 13 elections.
The DMK, which had been stating that it would be happy if the Lankan Tamils get separate Eelam, was now taking an explicit stand that it would work for Tamil Eelam, not to be outdone by the AIADMK and its allies.
AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, who had been blowing hot and cold on the Lankan Tamils issue, in a major shift in her stand, had advocated separate Tamil Eelam to find a permanent solution to the ethnic crisis.
She said if people gave her front an overwhelming victory, she would even ensure that Indian army was sent to Sri Lanka to secure a separate home land for the Tamils.
Recalling how the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had sent Indian troops to East Pakistan to carve out Bangladesh, the AIADMK supremo promised the electorate that she would follow the same international law and send Indian army to Sri Lanka to get Eelam for the Tamils.
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