Ramadoss urges MK to lead all-party delegation in Lanka issue

Chennai, Oct 17 (UNI) Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) Founder leader S Ramadoss today urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to lead an all-party delegation and prevail upon the Centre to intervene in the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.

Talking to newspersons here, Dr Ramadoss, who expressed serious concerns on the attacks on Tamils by the Sri Lankan forces, said Mr Karunanidhi, instead of talking about the past, should come forward to condemn the Sri Lankan Government.

Stating that Tamils all over the world were agitated over the happenings in the Tamil areas in the island, he said the Sri Lankan Government, ignoring the suggestions of India, the European Union and the United States, has launched an offensive against the Tamils.

A this juncture, Mr Karunanidhi should lead an all-party delegation and prevail upon the Centre to tell the Lankan Government clearly it should immediately declare a ceasefire and come to a negotiation table, he said. The Indian Government should exert pressure on the Lankan Government to come for peace talks, he added.

''There is nothing surprising,'' he said when asked about the Sri Lankan Suprem Court, declaring null and void, the temporary merger of Northern and Eastern provinces, effected in 1987. ''It is for the Indian government to react. Before that the Tamil Nadu government and Mr Karunanidhi should react,'' he said.

Mr Karunanidhi, however, at a press conference later, rejected Dr Ramadoss's suggestion for an all-party delegation, stating that it was not clear whether the Congress would join such a delegation.

Instead, the political parties could arrive at a consensus on the issue, he suggested.

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