Chennai:
DMK chief M Karunanidhi has said that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's proposed visit to India later this month is "not acceptable" to his party.
"It is not acceptable to us that he, who is responsible for the killing of lakhs of Tamils, is accorded a special welcome," Mr Karunanidhi told reporters today.
The DMK chief, whose party is a key UPA ally, was replying to a query on Lankan pilgrims' allegations that they were being forced to return home after some local pro-Tamil outfits staged a protest against them near Thanjavur yesterday.
However, striking a different note from Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Mr Karunanidhi said that though his party was strongly opposed to defence personnel from the island nation being trained in India, it was not averse to players' visits.
In line with her strict anti-Lanka stand, Ms Jayalalithaa had on Sunday ordered that two teams of Sri Lankan footballers who were training in Tamil Nadu be sent back immediately.
"All that we can insist is there should be no military training to Sri Lankan personnel in India as the military was responsible for death of civilian Tamils (during the armed conflict). That is what we have been striving for and even stoutly opposing in Parliament," Mr Karunanidhi told reporters.
"It is not acceptable to us that he, who is responsible for the killing of lakhs of Tamils, is accorded a special welcome," Mr Karunanidhi told reporters today.
The DMK chief, whose party is a key UPA ally, was replying to a query on Lankan pilgrims' allegations that they were being forced to return home after some local pro-Tamil outfits staged a protest against them near Thanjavur yesterday.
However, striking a different note from Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Mr Karunanidhi said that though his party was strongly opposed to defence personnel from the island nation being trained in India, it was not averse to players' visits.
In line with her strict anti-Lanka stand, Ms Jayalalithaa had on Sunday ordered that two teams of Sri Lankan footballers who were training in Tamil Nadu be sent back immediately.
"All that we can insist is there should be no military training to Sri Lankan personnel in India as the military was responsible for death of civilian Tamils (during the armed conflict). That is what we have been striving for and even stoutly opposing in Parliament," Mr Karunanidhi told reporters.
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