By IANS
Chennai : The last day of the Tamil Nadu assembly session ended Friday as it had begun – with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) topping the agenda of all parties in the house.
The ruling DMK headed by M. Karunanidhi was asked by both the opposition AIADMK and ally Congress to crack down on “supporters of terrorism”.
Making a rare appearance in the house, Leader of Opposition J. Jayalalitha blasted the DMK government on law and order and alleged that the state was “becoming a haven for anti-social elements and extremists”.
She added that Tamil Nadu was becoming “an LTTE base” and an “arms den”. The government, she said, was unable to protect even leaders of friendly parties – a reference to the recent attack on Tamil Nadu Congress president M. Krishnaswamy by an armed gang while he was on a visit to the southern districts.
In a vitriolic speech, the former chief minister said that allies of the government were taking inspiration from Karunanidhi in expressing support for outfits like the LTTE, banned in India.
“It was Chief Minister Karunanidhi who had, just a few days ago, told the assembly that the Supreme Court had said there was nothing wrong in extending moral support to extremist organisations.”
Encouraged by this, DMK ally T. Thirumavalavan of the Dalit Panthers had addressed rallies this week in support of the LTTE, Jayalalitha said.
The Congress party also demanded “stringent action” against supporters of the LTTE menace in Tamil Nadu.
Congress leader Peter Alphonse said his party was opposed to the LTTE not because it was involved in killing Rajiv Gandhi, but to “prevent spread of terrorism in Tamil Nadu”.
The house got noisier when Jayalalitha made a derogatory remark against senior DMK leader and Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan.
The speaker was forced to adjourn the house after 40 minutes of pandemonium during which the opposition and treasury benches were trading accusations.
When the house resumed, the AIADMK staged a walkout, saying “the DMK government has lost the moral right to rule”.
Karunanidhi, in turn, accused the opposition of “flouting norms of democracy” and said: “We have kept quiet even when derogatory remarks were made against Anbazhagan, as we firmly believe in democracy. We are in power and have to behave responsibly.”