Stopped en route to Sanchi, Vaiko's sit-in against Rajapakse continues

Bhopal: The dharna by over a thousand MDMK workers, led by party general secretary Vaiko, stopped on their way to Sanchi to protest against the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, continued tonight at Gadchicholi near Pandhurna on the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border.

Jabalpur range Inspector General V Madhu Kumar told PTI late night that neither Mr Vaiko nor any of the MDMK workers had been arrested, as the protest so far was peaceful.

Mr Rajapakse is scheduled to be in Sanchi for laying the foundation stone of the International Buddhist University on Friday. MDMK has opposed his visit, citing his government's atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamils.

Mr Kumar said police will take necessary action if MDMK protesters tried to proceed towards Bhopal/Sanchi.

Nanmaran, an MDMK leader, said the sit-in on the Nagpur-Chhindwara road continued. "Our leader will take call on further course of action tomorrow," he said.

Police have encircled the entire group of MDMK workers.

Earlier in the day, Mr Vaiko and MDMK workers, travelling in a convoy of 40 buses, headed for Sanchi, were stopped on Maharashtra-MP border, following which they staged a sit-in on the road.

Mr Vaiko alleged that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan misled him by promising to discuss the matter in Bhopal, but he had been now stopped on the border.

Talking to reporters at Nagpur, the MDMK leader had earlier lashed out at BJP government in Madhya Pradesh for inviting the Sri Lankan president, and the Centre for endorsing the visit, "despite knowing that Rajapakse is solely responsible for the genocide of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka."

Sri Lankan government advises citizens not to travel to Tamil Nadu

New Delhi: The Sri Lankan government has advised its citizens not to travel to Tamil Nadu until further notice after Lankan pilgrims, visiting a church in Thanjavur in the state, were allegedly harassed. 184 pilgrims visiting the Poornimatha Church were allegedly mobbed and had taken refuge in the church. They will return to Sri Lanka.

"The Government of Sri Lanka regrets the increasing number of instances of intimidation of Sri Lankan nationals visiting Tamil Nadu for the purposes of tourism, religious pilgrimages, sporting and cultural activities and professional training," the Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry said in a statement in Colombo.

"The Government of Sri Lanka is constrained to request Sri Lankan nationals in the interest of their security to desist from undertaking visits to Tamil Nadu until further notice," the statement said.

"In the event there is a compelling reason to visit Tamil Nadu, such a visit should take place following prior timely intimation to the Sri Lanka Deputy High Commission in Chennai," the statement added.

The advisory by the Sri Lankan government comes a day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa ordered that two Sri Lankan football teams which were undergoing training in Chennai be sent back.

Less than two weeks ago, Ms Jayalalithaa had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to halt an ongoing training programme for two Sri Lankan defence personnel at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington near Ooty.

In a strongly-worded letter, she had alleged that the training had been concealed from her government, which showed scant regard for the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu

Last month, the Chief Minister had also opposed a similar training programme for nine Sri Lankan Air Force personnel at the Tambaram Air Force Station in Chennai. In view of her stiff opposition and protests from other parties in the state including ally DMK, the Centre had been forced to move them to the Yelahanka Airforce Station in Bengaluru in order to enable them to complete their training. Ms Jayalalithaa had dubbed the move as "not proper", adding that "instead of sending these personnel back to Sri Lanka, the Government of India exhibited excessive enthusiasm and concern for these personnel".

Ms Jayalalithaa had then described it as "anti- Tamil" and said "Tamils want action against Sri Lanka for war crimes and they will not accept this" and that "Tamils even suspect whether the Centre is acting against them".

(With inputs from PTI)

Now, Jayalalithaa orders Sri Lankan soccer teams to be sent back

Chennai: After expressing her strong displeasure over Sri Lankan defence personnel undergoing training in her state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has now ordered for sending back two Sri Lankan football teams which were undergoing training in Chennai.

The directive from the Chief Minister came after one of the teams, Royal College of Colombo, played a match against the Chennai Customs team at a stadium in the city on Friday. Ms Jayalalithaa has also ordered the suspension of a stadium official for allowing the soccer team to play the "friendly" tie, alleging that he insulted Tamils.

"The (Nehru) Stadium Officer has no authority to allow matches there and only the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu is authorised to do so. By using an authority that did not exist, the official had demeaned the sentiments of Tamil people," she said. The Chief Minister has also ordered Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi to initiate department-level proceedings against the official him.

"I have also instructed that no competitions must be held for the Sri Lankan team besides directing that they be sent back," she said in a statement. The other visiting team, comprising eight students from the Hilborn International School, was scheduled to play in a tournament with students from the Velammal International School in Chennai. The state government has also ordered for the students to be sent back along with their coach. 

The Chief Minister has also slammed the Centre for allowing the Sri Lankan players to undergo training and develop their skills in India.

The latest incident comes just over a week after Ms Jayalalithaa asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to halt an ongoing training programme for two Sri Lankan defence personnel at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington near Ooty. In a strongly-worded letter, she had demanded for the immediate sending back of the two defence personnel, alleging that the training "has been mischievously concealed from my government, showing scant regard for the views of my government as well as for the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu."

Last month, the Chief Minister had opposed a similar training programme for nine Sri Lankan Air Force personnel at the Tambaram Air Force Station in Chennai. In view of her stiff opposition and protests from other parties in the state including ally DMK, the Centre had been forced to move them to the Yelahanka Airforce Station in Bengaluru in order to enable them to complete their training. Ms Jayalalithaa had dubbed the move as "not proper", adding that "instead of sending these personnel back to Sri Lanka, the Government of India exhibited excessive enthusiasm and concern for these personnel". Ms Jayalalithaa had then described it as "anti- Tamil" and said "Tamils want action against Sri Lanka for war crimes and they will not accept this" and that "Tamils even suspect whether the Centre is acting against them".

(With inputs from PTI)