Funds, relief materials for Tamils may go to LTTE hands:Jaya

Chennai, Nov 2 (UNI) AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the Opposition J Jayalalithaa today alleged that the funds and relief materials being raised by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi for the suffering Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka might end up in the hands of the banned LTTE.

In a statement here, she said such doubts have cropped up in the minds of the people of the State.

Recalling that Mr Karunanidhi had penned a poem eulogising a slain leader of the banned LTTE, she said it was only natural for the people to fear that the funds and relief materials being collected by the State would end up in the hands of the banned outfit.

Alleging that petrol smuggled out of the State had been reaching the LTTE, Ms Jayalalithaa feared that similarly the relief materials and the money being raised by Mr Karunanidhi might also reach the banned outfit, thus compounding the sufferings of the Lankan Tamils.

She also alleged that funds were being collected forcibly from the people and one day salary of the government workers had been cut without their consent towards contribution to the Sri Lankan Tamils Relief fund.

Referring to the Rs five lakh donated by Mr Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal for the relief fund, Ms Jayalalithaa wondered from where did she got that amount and asked whether she was paying income tax.

Mr Karunanidhi owed an explanation to the people on this count, she demanded.

UNI GV ROY RL RN1548