The Sri Lankan Tamils issue appears to have taken a back seat in the campaign for the April 24 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, much to the disappointment of active pro-Tamil groups in the State.
Almost all the political parties, including those which, vociferously criticised the Congress led-UPA at the Centre, for its alleged inaction in protecting the Island Tamils, are hardly mentioning it now.
The leaders of neither the AIADMK, which lost no chance to attack the Manmohan Singh government for betraying the interest of the Sri Lankan Tamils, nor the DMK, which walked out of UPA government over this issue, are emphasising this subject in their campaign meetings now.
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The CPI, MDMK, the PMK, the DMDK, all known for their support for the island Tamils, too have remained silent so far. This was in contrast to the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009 when this issue was alive.
In the last two years, the State has been witnessing several protests, with the leaders of almost all political parties calling for India’s support to U.S. sponsored resolutions against Sri Lanka in the U.N. Human Rights Council. The DMK indeed pulled out of the government in March last year, days prior to the vote in Geneva.
Observers point out that Ms. Jayalalithaa made a “U-turn” in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, vociferously supporting the Sri Lankan Tamils cause in all her election meetings. But, it was the DMK-led UPA which managed to win a majority of 27 seats, despite the entire opposition including CPI, PMK, MDMK at their peak along with AIADMK to exploit this issue. In contrast, the Congress leaders and candidates have been highlighting the steps taken by the Centre for the Tamils’ rehabilitation in Sri Lanka.
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