Karunanidhi defends himself for paying tribute to Thamilselvanā??s death

Nov 05: Controversies and M Karunanidhi Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu seems to sail in the same boat, this time too for no obvious reason.

Karunanidhi’s poem, in which he has outpoured his emotion to pay condolence to the slain Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader S P Thamilselvan, who was killed by Sri Lankan Air Force in an aerial raid on November 2.

In his eulogy to Thamilselvan, he wrote, “ A face that was ever smiling, A heart that singed all opposition, A youthful man with a heart as strong as the Himalayas, A commander who blossomed in the footsteps of Balasingham, the old lion, A noble youth who deemed his life but a bit of manure for his liberation struggle, One who was like life to us, like a brother to us, Oh, Selva, he who etched his fame on every Tamil heart, And every Tamil home, where art thou gone?”

This piece of his tribute to Thamilselvan has come under sharp criticism, the AIADMK leader, J Jayalalitha asked of his dismissal as it was against constitution.

H Raja, Vice President of BJP in Tamil Nadu also in the same tune criticised Karunanidhi for praising Thamilselvan.

Raja said, “Tamils in the Lanka are facing tough time in the hands of the Army for the past two years. Tamil women are molested and students were killed in Jaffna University. Not even on one occasion has Karunanidhi expressed regret over these incidents”.

Questioning Karunanidhis tribute Raja asked that if he could condemn the demise of Thamilselvan why he did not attend the funeral of his former ministerial colleague T Kirutinan.

Meanwhile, Karunanidhi defended himself and said that he condoled the death because he is a Tamilian and also that Tamil blod is flowing in his veins.

Meanwhile Jayalalitha’s statement was criticised by Karunanidhi he said pointing towards Vaiko, an MDMK leader an ally of AIDMK too has condoled his death saying Thamilselvan as a loyal, amicable leader who fought for Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka.

Vaiko had also condemned the Union Government for providing weapons to the Sinhalese government indulging in a genocidal war against Tamil.

Many other leaders too has condoled Thamilselvan’s death.

Sri Lanka is facing turbulence due to bloody conflict in the region. Thamilselvan was the head of LTTE political wing and the international face of the group. He took over as head of the LTTE after the death of Balasingham and was involved in negotiation with the government.

His death is seen as major setback to the LTTE faction, but an achievement for Sri Lankan’s government.

Earlier, Karunanidhi was criticised for his remarks on the existence of Ram and Ramsethu.