Congress leader tears up Prabhakaran posters

Mr E V K S Elangovan, former Union Minister who also headed the Tamil Nadu Congress for a while, on Friday tore up posters of LTTE leader V Prabhakaran put up in his native town of Erode put up by fringe elements still supporting the Eelam cause.

In a swift reaction, pro-LTTE elements hurled three petrol bombs at his residence in Chennai on Friday night, police said on Saturday. Mr Elangovan was not present in the house when the petrol bombs were hurled, police said, adding some furniture was damaged in the incident.

Mr Elangovan and his supporters pulled down banners and portraits of the slain LTTE leader put up by his supporters to mark Heroes Day to observed every year on Nov 27, a day after Prabhakaran's birthday, to commemorate LTTE fighters who laid down their lives in the armed struggle for an independent Eelam.

A few of the protestors led by a local member of the Tamil Nadu Assembly also demanded the arrest of LTTE supporters who had put up these posters.

Mr Elangovan, grand-nephew of Dravidian patriarch E V Ramasamy and son of prominent leader E V K Sampath who quit the DMK following differences with Mr M Karunanidhi and eventually joined the Congress, is known for speaking his mind out.

Talking to reporters, Mr Elangovan said: "we appealed to both the Collector and the district superintendent of police to remove the banners with Prabhakaran's portraits. As they failed to respond to our plea, we removed them."

He said Prabhakaran was declared a terrorist and the LTTE still remains banned in India ever since it assassinated Mr Rajiv Gandhi. Referring to the first anniversary of the Mumbai terror attack by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists on Nov 26 last year, he said that at a time

when the entire nation was paying homage to the martyrs and victims of the attacks, "some outfits here are supporting a banned terrorist outfit."

Asked whether he would demand a ban on the MDMK, Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, and some radical Tamil outfits that continue to support the LTTE, he said that the State government should take action against them.

He could not voice such a demand as viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi led by Thol Tirumavalavan, a known LTTE supporter, is part of the Congress-DMK alliance as it serves DMK leader M Karunanidhi's political expediency.

- Asian Tribune -