'Centre must take steps to resolve ethnic crisis in SL'

Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu), Nov 11: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi today said the centre should take appropriate steps to resolve the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka.

Addressing a press conference here, he said ''I do not have any specific agenda on the issue''.

However, he maintained that he would recommend a solution to the government, when the External Affairs Ministry and Prime Minister's Office would involve him for an open discussion on this.

About sending a team of MPs to Sri Lanka on a fact finding mission, Mr Karunanidhi said '' I don't believe in such proposals''.

To a question, whether the DMK would demand for a price reduction of petroleum products, he said '' do you (media) think that the DMK had ever failed in demanding a price reduction of the essential commodities.'' He said there would be no price hike of bus fares in Tamil Nadu.

The election to the cooperative societies across the state would take place after January next yerar and the demand to set up an exclusive election commission to monitor elections to cooperative societies would be examined.

When asked on the recent Supreme Court's instruction to the state governments to furnish recommendations on State Police Reforms, the Chief Minister said the state government had set up a panel to go into this.

About long pending vacancies of Deans in seven medical colleges across Tamil Nadu, he said they would be filled within the next ten days.

He said the state government medical personnel's demand for salary structure at par with the Union government doctors would be examined.

On carving out a new district at Ariyalur, Mr Karunanidhi said it was under consideration.

When asked about the need for framing a regulatory tariff structure for the auto rickshaws in the state, he said the matter would be discussed with the associations of auto rickshaw drivers and auto rickshaw owners.

Mr Karunanidhi said the government had chalked out blue prints for industrialisation of two-tier cities like Madurai, Trichy, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli. About setting up a Tidal Park at Trichy, he said the government as of now was considering only Coimbatore, but in the due course would consider other cities.

He said the long pending demand to make Trichy as the second capital of Tamil Nadu needed a broader discussion.

On Mullaiperiyar issue, he said after the recent all party meeting, the resolutions had been communicated to Kerala government and the Union government.

''I hope the Centre would convene a meeting involving both the states,'' he added.

UNI

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