Now,DMK opts out of visit to Lanka

After the AIADMK,UPA constituent DMK too has decided to not join the all-party Parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka

After the AIADMK,UPA constituent DMK too has decided to not join the all-party Parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka.

With both the main political parties of Tamil Nadu opting out,the visit,which begins Monday,is unlikely to produce substantial gains either for the Lankan Tamils or the Indian government,which is keen to project itself as being on the right side after facing flak for sidestepping human rights concerns of the Tamils for strategic considerations.

The DMK will not be a part of the delegation, party chief M Karunanidhi said on Sunday,because judging from past experiences the visit would be an exercise in futility that would do no good to Sri Lankan Tamils,the victims of the violent civil conflict between the Colombo and rebel LTTE.

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Denying reports to the contrary,Karunanidhi said the DMK never planned to send its Lok Sabha member T K S Elangovan with the delegation,to be led by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.

On Wednesday,Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had said her AIADMK had opted out of the delegation it was to be represented by its Rajya Sabha member A William Rabi Bernard because,she said,the MPs would not be meeting the Sri Lankan Tamils to gain first hand knowledge about the ground situation.

Taking a dig at the DMK,Jayalalithaa had claimed that the previous trip by a delegation of MPs,including DMKs T R Baalu and Karunanidhis daughter K Kanimozhi,was a conducted tour,during which the MPs attended banquets held by the Lankan government but gained nothing for the war-affected Tamils.