Tamil Nadu issues ultimatum to Manmohan Singh over Lanka conflcit
2008-10-15 13:36:19

Political parties in India’s Tamil Nadu state have issued an ultimatum to the central government in New Delhi that they would resign from parliament unless the Manmohan Singh administration comes out with a comprehensive plan to ensure the safety of Tamil civilians caught up in the war in Sri Lanka’s north within two weeks.

There are some 40 lawmakers from Tamil Nadu in the 541-member national legislature and their withdrawal could spell political instability in India. The Singh government on July 22 won a no-confidence motion by just 19 votes after its Communist allies withdrew support in protest against India’s nuclear deal with the United States.

The decision to issue the ultimatum was taken at an all-party conference held in Chennai on Tuesday. The parties led by the ruling Dravida Munnetral Kazhakam, an ally of the Singh government, called on New Delhi to pressurize Sri Lanka to end its military offensive against the Tamil Tigers and insist on a political solution.

The parties also called on the Singh government to work for a cessation of hostilities in Sri Lankan within two weeks.

DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said the parties had decided to tell their members to step down unless the Sri Lankan government’s military offensive stopped in two weeks.

In a symbolic gesture, Karunanidhi's daugher Kanimozhi handed over her resignation from Rajya Sabha, India's upper house. Some political parties had insisted that such a ceasefire should come within days instead of within two weeks, reports from Tamil Nadu said.

The opposition AIADMK and its allies the BJP and the MDMK led by Y. Gopalaswamay a.ka.a. Vaiko did not attend the all-party conference but said they supported the move. Vaiko in a statement said today his party's two MPs would resign if New Delhi failed to comply with the ultimatum.

The all-party resolution, seen as the strongest ever message from a key ally of the Congress regime, also demanded that India halt all military aid to Sri Lanka and take steps to send humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka's Tamil trapped in the Wanni war zone.