People's Democracy

 CPI(M) Demands All-Party Delegation To Sri Lanka

S P Rajendran

The CPI(M) state secretary of Tamilnadu, N Varadarajan demanded that representatives of all political parties should be included in the MPs delegation to study the plight of the displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The delegation led by T R Baalu, Lok Sabha leader of the DMK, comprised only the MPs of the ruling coalition consisting of the DMK, the Congress and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.

In a parliamentary democracy due importance should be accorded to the opposition as well, he said, while speaking at a demonstration organised by the Party in  Trichi on 9 October, demanding the intervention of the central government to protect the interests of the Sri Lankan Tamils and the fishing rights of Indian fishermen. Party cadres from seven central districts participated.

N Varadarajan said that the displaced Tamils were subjected to untold hardships in the island nation. They are living in unhygienic conditions in the camps which lack basic facilities. After the end of the civil war, the Sri Lankan government should have taken effective steps to infuse confidence in the Tamils and rehabilitate them. But the Rajapaksa government has miserably failed, he said.

Expressing concern at repeated attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, he called upon the centre and the state government to take initiatives to protect their lives and properties besides their fishing rights.

Referring to the DMK�s demand to accord permanent resident status to the Sri Lankan refugees in Tamilnadu, Varadarajan said a CPI(M) team had planned to visit all refugee camps in the state to elicit the views of the inmates on the DMK�s demand.

The Party would continue its agitation in a democratic manner till the Tamil issue was resolved amicably, he said.

CPI(M) Central Committee member W R Varadharajan, assembly leader K Bala Barathi and district secretaries also spoke.