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Karunanidhi threatens again, says support to UPA doubtful

17 Mar 2013 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

DMK chief M Karunanidhi today threatened to snap ties with the Congress-led UPA government if India doesn't vote against Sri Lanka at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on March 22. Mr Karunanidhi has demanded the government to amend the resolution to incorporate demand for international probe and time-bound action against those who may be found guilty of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Mr Karunanidhi wrote that the Centre has let his party down.

"Our support to UPA is doubtful," Mr Karunanidhi said today; his second warning to the Centre in two days in his demand for the government to amend the resolution to incorporate demand for international probe and time-bound action against those who may be found guilty of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

The DMK chief's warning came despite Finance Minister P Chidambaram hinting at a possible vote against Sri Lanka yesterday.

"I'm confident that if phrases in the UN resolution sought credible independent international probe, India would support it," Mr Chidambaram said.

The minister also sought to assure students who are gearing up for massive protests from Monday across Tamil Nadu, demanding affirmative action against Colombo at the UN session. "I'm feeding you my confidence and you feed this confidence to our students," he said.

The government, which has so far been non-committal over its stand on the Lankan Tamils issue, yesterday attempted to placate the DMK with Union Minister V Narayanasamy saying the Prime Minister would "definitely consider all aspects" before taking a decision on the resolution.

With 18 MPs, Mr Karunanidhi's party is the second biggest constituent of the Congress-led UPA, providing crucial support to a government that has, of late, been tested vigorously by several coalition partners.

The US-sponsored motion puts the island nation in the dock over alleged war crimes and rights violations against Tamil civilians during the final phase of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Last year, India had supported a similar resolution following pressure from political parties in Tamil Nadu.(NDTV)

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Karunanidhi threatens again, says support to UPA doubtful

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