Swamy demands dismissal of TN govt on LTTE issue

Chennai, Jan 19 (UNI) Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy today demanded that the Centre must dismiss the DMK Government in Tamil Nadu for its alleged soft attitude towards the banned Sri Lankan terrorist outfit LTTE.

Answering questions on the arrest of a member of LTTE intelligence wing and seven other Sri Lankans in Chennai two days ago, he also charged that the DMK Government had also been supporting the cause of the LTTE--separate Tamil Eelam to serve its own interests.

Reverting to the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP), he alleged that the Union Cabinet had sanctioned the project without the mandatory clearance of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

He said he would be filing a new interlocutory application in Supreme Court next week, seeking complete scrapping of the project.

He also alleged that the project was in violation of the Ministry of Environment and Forests' binding advice, contained in a letter dated April 8, 1999 to the Union Surface Transport Ministry that the project was an environmental disaster and should be dropped altogether.

He also claimed that in his new book titled 'Ram Sethu: A Symbol of National Unity', he would prove the claim that the SSCP would be beneficial to the economy of Tamil Nadu, was based on ''cooked up data''.

Aswering a question on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to China, Dr Swamy said the tour did not break any new ground.

UNI VV SJ AKJ AS1752