Jayalalithaa describes DMK's pull out as 'drama'

Chennai: Slamming DMK President M Karunanidhi for announcing his party's withdrawal from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa described it as a "drama" and indicated it was an action which came too late in the day. His announcement that the party was withdrawing its support to the Centre over the Lankan Tamils issue was a late decision, she said while also referring to a Tamil saying.

When the war in Sri Lanka was at its peak in 2009, he embarked on a "three-hour fast drama," but neither pulled out his party nominees from the government nor withdrew support to it, she said in a statement. On his assurance that the hostilities had ceased, people had come out of bunkers only to fall victims to shelling and Karunanidhi was "responsible" for their killing, the AIADMK supremo alleged.

"Sri Lankan Tamils would have been saved if he had withdrawn his support to Central government then. Karunanidhi did not do it. This is a very big betrayal of Tamils," she alleged. The "second betrayal" came when DMK did not insist the Centre to implement a Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution in 2011 that called for economic sanctions to be imposed on Sri Lanka till Tamils in the island nation were ensured status on par with the majority Sinhalese.

She said that at the previous UNHRC session, India was responsible for "weakening" a "fairly strong" US-sponsored resolution and Karunanidhi had "not opened his mouth." "While he squandered all the opportunities to strongly voice against the Centre, he has announced quitting UPA today, which amounts to washing his hands off responsibility," she said.

On his demand for a resolution in Parliament incorporating two amendments sought by him to the US backed initiative against Sri Lanka in UNHRC, she said it won't help the cause in the present situation as a motion in the UN rights body alone would enable taking strong action against Colombo.

"People are tired of the countless dramas by Karunanidhi. While the revived TESO had failed to find any support among people and students, he seems to aim at minimising the blame by enacting the latest drama. His aspirations would not come true and people will teach him a right lesson for his drama," she said.