By IANS
Chennai : Tamil Nationalist Movement leader P. Nedumaran and MDMK chief Vaiko were Monday taken into custody for holding a condolence rally for LTTE spokesperson S.P. Tamilselvan in defiance of ban orders.
The LTTE leader was killed in an air raid on Nov 2 in northern Sri Lanka.
The condolence rally was banned by the DMK government here, although Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had written a poem in memory of the slain leader.
The rally, in the heart of the city, was by the Coordination Committee of Supporters of Tamil Eelam Liberation.
About 500 people participated, among them MDMK cadre, although the party is an ally of the AIADMK which has criticised Karunanidhi for praising Tamilselvan.
Vaiko and the others were remanded to 15 days judicial custody for defying prohibitory orders.
In a statement before the rally, Vaiko accused the central government of “betraying” the Lankan Tamils and “supplying arms to the Sri Lankan army” which, he said, were being used against Lankan Tamils.
“We have gathered here to express not only the feelings of Tamils in Tamil Nadu but from throughout the world,” Vaiko said.
Nedumaran also criticised the DMK government for banning the memorial rally.
The pro-LTTE sympathisers carried pictures of Tamilselvan and other LTTE leaders.