Indicating that Puthiya Thamizhagam is keeping the option of an alliance with the Congress and DMK open ahead of the next Parliamentary elections, its leader Dr K Krishnasamy refrained from criticising the Centre on the training being provided to Sri Lankan military personnel in Tamil Nadu.
Evading a direct reply to a question on the Centre’s action which is being condemned by all political parties in Tamil Nadu, Krishnasamy, whose party voted for the Congress nominee, Pranab Mukherjee during the Presidential polls recently, said all the parties should unite to find a permanent solution to the problem of Lankan Tamils instead of conducting protests on various issues concerning them.
When reminded about his party’s announcement of a protest against the atrocities of the Sri Lankan government, he said the Lankan government had released Tamil people who were kept within wire-fenced open camps in the island and so the protests were dropped.
Even while admitting that the State police was pursuing the investigation into the granite scam in a sincere manner, Krishnasamy sought a CBI probe into it. The scam involved several dimensions beyond the ambit of the State government’s powers and it would be proper for the CBI to conduct the investigation, he explained.
The Dalit leader’s demand comes a few days after the DMK accused the State government of pursuing vendetta politics using the granite scam and amidst reports that the accused want a CBI probe.
Krishnasamy said the natural resources and ground water in Tamil Nadu were being plundered by private parties.
Granite, graphite, manganese and quartz have been mined indiscriminately over the last two decades and a huge amount of money was involved.
He said a committee of leaders of all parties in the State Assembly should be formed to conduct a probe and submit a white paper on the exploitation of natural resources in the State.
PT was planning to create public awareness on the misuse of natural resources and will launch a campaign from September 15.
He charged that private educational institutions were not providing free education to students of SC/ST communities, though the State government had allocated Rs 115 crore for free education of SC/ST students. The PT will hold a protest in front of private educational institutions on September 6, he announced.