Ramadoss dares Karunanidhi to sever ties with Congress

Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S.Ramadoss on Saturday dared DMK president and Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi to shelve his party’s alliance with the Congress if India does not sever diplomatic ties with Sri Lanka in case the Colombo government turns down the appeal for a ceasefire. Mr. Karunanidhi made his demand in telegrams sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, welcoming the Centre’s appeal to Sri Lanka for a ceasefire, to ensure that innocent Tamils are not killed in the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Dr.Ramadoss told reporters that this is another drama staged by Mr. Karunanidhi on the Sri Lankan issue. The Pattali Makkal Katchi made this demand three years ago while demanding a solution to the crisis in Sri Lanka.

“Now that the External Affairs Minister has ruled out mediation by India on the situation in Sri Lanka, what will Mr. Karunanidhi do? Can he tell the Congress that he will cut off ties with it if diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka are not severed?” he asked.

He said that the Sri Lankan issue would dominate the Lok Sabha election campaign in the State.

He also said: “Mr. Karunanidhi criticized my son Anbumani Ramadoss for not raising the Sri Lanka issue at Cabinet meetings when he was the Union Minister for Health. This issue could be included in a Cabinet meeting agenda only by the External Affairs Minister or the Home Minister, but not the Health Minister”.