The visit of the ten-member MP delegation to Sri Lanka to study the living conditions of internally-displaced Tamils in relief camps is embroiled in a controversy, with opposition parties crying themselves hoarse over omission of their MPs in the mission.
The tour has come under severe attack from main opposition AIADMK, which has dismissed it as”eyewash" and ridiculed it as "a guided tour," by MPs from the ruling coalition.
"No member from any opposition party, no journalist, no human rights activists, no independent observers. What sort of an all-party delegation is this?" Jayalalithaa asked. Her stand was supported by BJP state unit, which found fault that no members from the principal opposition party in Parliament were included. BJP state vice-president H Raja said it was not proper for the Congress-led UPA, which, he alleged, had helped Colombo in its fight against LTTE, to send MPs from the ruling party alone. According to Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy, the delegation lacked credibility, since its members were only from the ruling party.
DMDK founder and actor Vijayakant dubbed it a "drama". The Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement, an umbrella organisation of pro-Sri Lankan Tamil parties, including PMK, MDMK and Tamil Nationalist Movement, also described the visit of the MPs as an "eyewash."
Fending off the attack from his bete noire, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said the trip was not sponsored by the Centre and expenses are being borne by MPs.
One fails to understand what kind of a democracy is this? MPs of the ruling combine have gone there on a fact finding mission. They are being treated as an ‘official’ delegation. In Sri Lanka, they are accompanied by Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad and Deputy High Commissioner Vikram Misri. They meet Social Service Minister Douglas Devananda and the Northern Province Governor Major General Chandrasiri.
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