'We are not against Tamil, but against LTTE'

Thanjavur, Nov 6: Senior Congress Leader and Union Minister of State for Textiles EVKS Elangovan has said the Congress is not against treating the Sri Lankan Tamils as first class citizens and equal to the Singhalese in Sri Lanka, but is against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Talking to newspersons here yesterday, the minister said "If we look at the history, it was Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, who secured voting rights for the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Again, it was Mr Nehru, who got the national language status for Tamils in Sri Lanka. So we are not against the Tamils, but only against the LTTE." Mr Elangovan alleged that the LTTE had driven away 10,000 Tamil Muslims and killed many Tamil Leaders. It was using the innocent Tamils as a shield. Children were being trained to use arms and it could not be accepted. We would not support the banned LTTE unde any circumstances, he added.

Referring to the present power cisis in Tamil Nadu, he said the electricity was a State subject. The State Government had reduced the subsidy for windmills and this resulted in a dip in wind energy generation, he added.

Asked why the Centre could not allot more power to the State from its pool, Mr Elangovan said there was inadequate generation.

Many States resorted to power cuts. "Power is not a commodity which can be stored; it has to be generated every day. Hence, as a long-term plan, the Government had signed the nuclear deal with the United States. There was scope for generating 40,000 MW in the country in another four-five years." he added.

On the demand of some Congress MLAs for ministerial berths in the DMK ministry in Tamil Nadu, Mr Elangovan said the majority of the legislators had now started feeling that it was better not to join the cabinet in the present circumstances.

The minister also informed that he has written to DMK President and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to nationalise the rationalist leader Periyar E V Ramasamy's write-ups, as they belonged to humanity and not just for a few people.

UNI