pass the roti on the left hand side

The general strike called by ruling DMK on Thursday on the Lankan Tamils issue has evoked a mixed response with its allies including Congress backing it but AIADMK and its partners refusing to take part, slamming it as a "farce".

Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi, under mounting pressure ahead of the Lok Sabha polls for not doing enough on the Lankan issue, last night gave the strike call to protest the 'killings of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka' and to demand immediate steps for a ceasefire.

The Congress on Tuesday called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka.

Asked to react on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s demand that the Centre issue an ultimatum to Sri Lanka to declare an “immediate and permanent ceasefire,” Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said: “We are demanding cessation of hostilities.”

When queried persistently whether the Congress agreed with Mr. Karunanidhi’s demand for a ceasefire, Ms. Natarajan insisted on using the formulation “cessation of hostilities” instead.

You know what might be helpful to Tamils of Sri Lanka, Vaiko? If you recognized the very simple concept that the Tigers are Tamils, but not all Tamils are Tigers. That at this point, the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE are equally culpable for the suffering of civilians in Sri Lanka. Instead, you spout bullshit like:

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko on Wednesday warned that Tamil Nadu would witness a bloodbath even if the slightest harm befell Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader V. Prabakaran (Hindu).

AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa on Sunday flayed the Sri Lankan government's move to declare Kachchativu, an islet ceded to it by India in 1974, as a 'sacred area', saying it belonged to India and demanded its retrieval.

Kachchativu, situated in the Palk Straits between Sri Lanka and India, has been in the limelight in recent past as fishermen from Tamil Nadu at times are attacked allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, causing casualties which has led to protests by political parties in Tamil Nadu.

If anybody supports the LTTE then NSA will be invoked. Now I say that I will support the LTTE. You can arrest all of us under the NSA. Then all prisons will be full of cadres, and the entire Tamil Nadu will convert into a prison, he added.

The hardening of global opinion against terror — a welcome development from India's point of view -- and the loss of whatever sympathy the Tigers once had in international capitals have eliminated leeway for New Delhi to do anything more than express sympathy for the distressed Tamilians.

Sending relief material seems to be the party's way of making a gesture to Tamil sentiments, without resiling from its stand against terrorism and redrawing of boundaries of sovereign nations.

District SPs have been empowered to carry out the order, a release from the DGP's office said last night. Appropriate action would be taken against those who trying to damage vehicles or involve in other illegal activities, it said.

The chain of events was set off by the police attempt to arrest a group of advocates involved in the attack on Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy and some policemen in the court complex on Tuesday. A group of advocates demanded that Dr. Swamy be also arrested for abusing one of their colleagues on caste lines.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government on Friday urged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to respond to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s announcement of a 48-hour “ceasefire” to release civilians in the war zone.