Karunanidhi 'fast' calculated to blunt oppn criticism

The fast undertaken by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi demanding a ceasefire in Sri Lanka is seen as a well-calculated move by him to earn brownie points in the political one-upmanship on the Lankan Tamils issue, now at the centrestage in the state in the run up to Lok Sabha polls.      

The six-hour fast came in the backdrop of the DMK patriarch facing intense heat from opposition parties, who had made him the target of their onslaught for not exerting enough pressure on the Lankan Tamils issue despite being a ruling UPA partner.     

Adding to the pressure came a dramatic shift in AIADMK's position announced by party chief Jayalalithaa last week, insisting only Tamil Eelam could end the decades-old ethnic strife in the island nation.     

Both Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi, who have rarely shared similar views on any issue, are, however, firm in their belief that Tamil Eelam could not be created through armed struggle.     

Karunanidhi, who has been supporting the concept of Eelam for the past 25 years, had recently backtracked from his known position and stated he was opposed to 'dictatorial rule' as suggested by LTTE chief V Prabhakaran if Eelam was created.     

The Sri Lankan government's announcement of cessation of combat operations in the north eastern part of the island prompted him to end his fast, which the DMK feels would help the octogenarian leader claim credit for it during campaign and also blunt the opposition attack on him.

The Sri Lankan government's decision is expected to make it difficult for the opposition to harp on the theme of plight of Lankan Tamils with as much ferocity as they have been doing so far.     

Jayalalithaa is categorical in her opposition to LTTE and has stuck to her stand that it is a terrorist organisation.     

But pro-LTTE parties and her allies like MDMK and PMK are unrelenting in their stance that the proscribed organisation is only a 'liberation group' like the Palestine Liberation Organisation.     

Karunanidhi's recent remarks that Prabhakaran was his 'good friend' had raised eyebrows as the LTTE chief was blamed for the killings of Rajiv Gandhi besides Sri Lankan Tamil leaders like TELP Chief Sri Sabarathinam, TULF leader A Amirthalingam and EPRLF leader E Padmanabha, who were very close to Karunanidhi.     

Prabhakaran had also refused to receive financial aid from the DMK chief in the eighties, while collecting money for various militant groups, but accepted Rs four lakh from Karunanidhi's bete noire, the late M G Ramachandran.     

Observers say it remains to be seen as to what extent the Sri Lankan government's decision to stop the combat operations unless it is simultaneously accompanied by humanitarian aid to the displaced Tamils, will have on the electorate and the calculations of political parties.