LTTE will not be finished, says Ramadoss

Chennai: PMK founder S Ramadoss, whose party is a constituent of the AIADMK-led front in Tamil Nadu, has said the LTTE would "not be finished" and would finally emerge victorious in the battle against the Sri Lankan army.

"The LTTE will not be finished. It will emerge victorious finally," said Ramadoss, who had recently described the banned outfit as a "liberation movement" and not a "terrorist organisation".

Ramadoss was responding to a query on the fate of the LTTE, which is confined to a small strip of land in the embattled north in the island nation.

The PMK chief had also maintained last week that LTTE chief Prabhakaran was not a "terrorist" but a leader of a "liberation movement" like former South African President Nelson Mandela and PLO chief late Yasser Arafat.

He alleged that the ruling DMK had failed on various fronts, including the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.

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Asked about the stand of CPI-M, also in the AIADMK-front, that the Prime Minister should be a Lok Sabha member, Ramadoss told a press conference that "the leaders have to decide on the issue only after elections. It is too early to say anything on the matter."

On the DMK's reported criticism of his son and former union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss that he had gained "backdoor entry" into the Central cabinet by becoming a Rajya Sabha member, Ramadoss said "even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a Rajya Sabha member."

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He pointed out that the late C V Rajagopalachari and DMK founder the late C N Annadurai, were members of the Upper House (Legislative Council) before becoming Chief Ministers.

"In fact, Karunandhi himself was the Opposition Leader with cabinet rank before former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran dissolved the council," he said.

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Charging the DMK and its allies with violation of code of conduct on various issues including alleged distribution of money to voters, Ramadoss said his party had sent letters to the Election Commission and would take it up with Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla during his Chennai visit on Tuesday.

Describing as "unprecedented" the decision to reduce bus fares, he pointed out that the Election Commission had ordered a roll back, saying it was a violation of model code of conduct. He demanded that Chief Minister Karunanidhi and Transport Minister K N Nehru own responsibility and resign over the issue.