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Chennai: The Eelam issue has come to the forefront of the electoral battle in Tamil Nadu, with the three of the four parties or fronts in contention harping on India’s abstention from voting on a US-sponsored resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) against Sri Lanka for war crimes.
Analysts in Chennai do not expect the fourth—the Congress, head of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that decided to abstain from the vote citing larger interests (such as curbing the influence of China in Sri Lanka)—to fare well in Tamil Nadu, a state where it has become a minor political force.
Tamil Nadu goes to polls on 24 April.
The Congress “doesn’t care for Sri Lankan Tamils or the sentiment of Tamilians”, claimed L. Ganesan, the South Chennai candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), at a press conference on Monday.
The BJP has cobbled together a coalition with actor-turned-politicianVijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, the V. Gopalsamy or Vaiko-led Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), theAnbumani Ramadoss-led Pattali Makkal Katchi and smaller parties such as the Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi and the Indiya Jananayaka Katchi.
In October, when Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat and the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, was in Chennai, he said that India should look after its people abroad, adding that the government must take care of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), too, have come down hard on the government’s position.
The DMK’s M.K. Stalin, son of party president M. Karunanidhi, said his party will not partner with the Congress after the election. The DMK was previously a part of the UPA and it was its influence that forced New Delhi to support the US-led resolution the previous three times it was taken up, Stalin said at an election meeting.
Last week, soon after India abstained from the voting, the AIADMK, whose leader J. Jayalalithaa, the current chief minister of Tamil Nadu who has positioned herself as a possible prime ministerial candidate, said New Delhi had always ignored the interests of Tamils. Ahead of the vote, Jayalalithaa had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to support the resolution.
India’s 72 million Tamils share strong and close cultural ties with Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, who accuse the Sri Lankan authorities of failing to protect Tamil civilians during the 37-year civil war with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The 1972-2009 civil war claimed 100,000 lives, according to UN estimates. In 2011, UN monitors said that tens of thousands died during the army’s final offensive against the LTTE, which was fighting to establish a separate state in the north and east of Sinhala-majority Sri Lanka.
Still, the issue may not account for much when it comes to votes, said an expert.
“The Sri Lankan Tamil issue is not an election issue,” said Cho Ramaswamy, founder and editor of Thuglak and a veteran political commentator. “People in Tamil Nadu are more concerned on the pressing needs of the state.”
For political parties, it is a convenient talking point, but it is not a major election issue, he added.
Analysts in Chennai do not expect the fourth—the Congress, head of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that decided to abstain from the vote citing larger interests (such as curbing the influence of China in Sri Lanka)—to fare well in Tamil Nadu, a state where it has become a minor political force.
Tamil Nadu goes to polls on 24 April.
The Congress “doesn’t care for Sri Lankan Tamils or the sentiment of Tamilians”, claimed L. Ganesan, the South Chennai candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), at a press conference on Monday.
The BJP has cobbled together a coalition with actor-turned-politicianVijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, the V. Gopalsamy or Vaiko-led Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), theAnbumani Ramadoss-led Pattali Makkal Katchi and smaller parties such as the Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi and the Indiya Jananayaka Katchi.
In October, when Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat and the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, was in Chennai, he said that India should look after its people abroad, adding that the government must take care of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), too, have come down hard on the government’s position.
The DMK’s M.K. Stalin, son of party president M. Karunanidhi, said his party will not partner with the Congress after the election. The DMK was previously a part of the UPA and it was its influence that forced New Delhi to support the US-led resolution the previous three times it was taken up, Stalin said at an election meeting.
Last week, soon after India abstained from the voting, the AIADMK, whose leader J. Jayalalithaa, the current chief minister of Tamil Nadu who has positioned herself as a possible prime ministerial candidate, said New Delhi had always ignored the interests of Tamils. Ahead of the vote, Jayalalithaa had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to support the resolution.
India’s 72 million Tamils share strong and close cultural ties with Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, who accuse the Sri Lankan authorities of failing to protect Tamil civilians during the 37-year civil war with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The 1972-2009 civil war claimed 100,000 lives, according to UN estimates. In 2011, UN monitors said that tens of thousands died during the army’s final offensive against the LTTE, which was fighting to establish a separate state in the north and east of Sinhala-majority Sri Lanka.
Still, the issue may not account for much when it comes to votes, said an expert.
“The Sri Lankan Tamil issue is not an election issue,” said Cho Ramaswamy, founder and editor of Thuglak and a veteran political commentator. “People in Tamil Nadu are more concerned on the pressing needs of the state.”
For political parties, it is a convenient talking point, but it is not a major election issue, he added.
