Protests, hunger strikes and shut downs in support of Eelam Tamils continued and political parties upped their pro-Eelam rhetoric in the southern state of Tamil Nadu amidst election campaigning for the May 13 Lok Sabha polls gained momentum.
As the Sri Lankan Army entered the northern part of the No Fire Zone in Mullaitheevu on Tuesday, April 20, causing large number of civilian casualties, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Muthuvel Karunanidhi called for a general state wide shut down and urged central government to give an ultimatum to Colombo to declare an "immediate and permanent ceasefire" in Sri Lanka.
Issuing a "final appeal", Karunanidhi asked all Tamils irrespective of their political affiliations to join the 12-hour strike.
"I insist that the Prime Minister, UPA chairperson (Sonia Gandi) and external affairs minister give an ultimatum to Sri Lankan government for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and save lakhs of Tamils," he said in the telegrams.
"What we want now is to stop the killings of Tamils there. There should be a permanent ceasefire," he said in the statement.
"We cannot do any thing except crying for the Tamils. It is for the Centre to act now," Karunanidhi, who has come under fire from opposition parties for not doing enough on the Lankan Tamils issue, said.
On the day of the strike, shops and business remained closed in Tamil Nadu and traffic stayed off the road.
Most of the shops, including petty stalls, in the city remained shut till 6 pm. Schools and colleges across the state were closed and exams postponed.
The Tamil cinema industry also came to a standstill with all its activities suspended, including screening of films in theatres.
However, the strike call by the DMK is widely seen as an attempt to garner votes by being sympathetic to the Tamil cause in
"The strike call is a feeble attempt by Karunanidhi to show the people that he is concerned about the happenings in
The Sri Lankan war has caught
Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu including the AIADMK and its allies, PMK, MDMK and CPM, questioned purpose of the strike, considering the DMK is part of the ruling coalition in
AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa said in a statement that the shut-down call was bogus, and that a general strike would only worsen the problems of the people. "The AIADMK will go ahead with its election campaign plans on Thursday," she said.
She faulted Karunanidhi for failing to send out a potent warning to the centre to bring about a ceasefire. "If Karunanidhi can't apply adequate pressure on the Union government now, when will there be a ceasefire?" she asked. "And if
PMK founder
Meanwhile, an AIADMK activist on Thursday, April 23, set himself ablaze in protest against alleged failure of both the Centre and Tamil Nadu governments to find a solution to the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
Mani (43), a worker in a dyeing factory in Tirupur, doused himself with kerosene on the Kulathupalayam Main road and set himself ablaze, police said.
He was immediately rushed by the public to the Tirupur government hospital, where he is being treated for 90 per cent burns, succumbed to his injuries later.
A note reportedly recovered from Mani and addressed to AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa stated that both the Centre and state governments have failed to solve the Sri Lankan Tamils problem.
Mani is the 12th person, to self immolate in the past few months, calling for action on the Eelam Tamils issue.
