PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Wednesday invited DMK president M.K. Stalin for a debate on the contribution of their respective parties to the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils.
In a statement, Dr. Ramadoss said that DMK, which has earlier behaved akin to ‘Rajapaksa and Jayawardene’, is now trying to portray them as ‘Prabhakaran’ in the Eelam Tamils issue.
“DMK has not done anything for Eelam Tamils in the last 36 years in the State and Centre. There have been times when they did not even utter the word ‘Tamil Eelam’ out of fear. I am ready to debate the betrayal of DMK in the Eelam Tamil issue. Is Stalin ready?” he asked.
“After seeking the intervention of Supreme court to stop local body polls, DMK is trying to come across as if they are concerned about the welfare of Eelam Tamils to appeal to the voters. It won’t work,” he said.
He said that DMK president M. Karunanidhi had urged the Centre to provide citizenship to Eelam Tamils living in Tamil Nadu, but had given up the demand after encountering attacks from various quarters.
“PMK believes that Eelam Tamils’ citizenship issue should be decided by them – since there is a fear that if they become citizens in some other country, there might be complications in the dream of returning to their homeland,” he said.
However, he asked what has the DMK done in the 12 years they were in power in the State and 18 years in ruling coalition in the Centre.
