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BJP minister says reappearance of Prabhakaran would make Tamils ‘immensely happy’

Union Minister of State and BJP representative in Tamil Nadu Pon Radhakrishnan said that the prospect of LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran being alive would make Tamil society “immensely happy” this week, ahead of reports that his party is looking to partner with the AIADMK.

His comments come after current Madurai-based Tamil nationalist leader Pazha Nedumaran claimed that LTTE chief Prabhakaran was "very much alive and will soon make a public appearance, at an appropriate time".

Radhakrishnan’s comments were met with criticism, particularly in northern India, and also by the opposition Congress party.

Tamil Nadu’s Congress Spokesperson and Legislative Assembly member S. Peter Alphonse called his words “untenable”and asserted that Radhakrishnan's statements were simply an effort to satisfy the AIADMK, who the BJP is looking to partner with in the state. "The BJP is desperate for an alliance with the AIADMK since no other party will touch it," remarked Alphonse.

Last month the AIADMK called out the DMK for colluding with war criminals in Sri Lanka and allowing tens of thousands of Tamils to be massacred, stating that the Tamil Nadu party and the Congress party should be tried as "international war criminals".

Though the Eelam cause has massive support across Tamil Nadu, India has proscribed the LTTE as a terrorist organisation since 1992, and public voicing in support of the group or their ideals had henceforth been deemed unconstitutional.

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