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Following up on the detention of MDMK supremo Vaiko and eight others under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday indicated that her government was thinking of banning the MDMK for openly supporting the LTTE, which is banned in India.
She had hinted at such a course of action in a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani while bring to his notice the pro-LTTE utterances of Vaiko, Jayalalithaa told newspersons in Chennai, a day after Vaiko's arrest.
However, the state government did not expect any 'cooperation or coordination' from the Centre, Jayalalithaa said pointing out the Centre had made it clear from the beginning that 'law and order is a state subject'.
The state government had enough powers under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to ban organisations at the state level.
"For a nationwide ban, we have to approach the Centre," she clarified.
Denying any 'political motives' in Vaiko's detention, Jayalalithaa said, "I am not concerned about whether people support me. We have to protect the security and integrity of the country. Vaiko is no political competition for me, he never will be."
She expressed surprise over BJP spokesperson Arun Jaitley's observation that the detention was 'unwarranted'.
"We cannot allow people like Vaiko to speak in support of a treacherous terrorist organisation. Tamil Nadu has always been at the receiving end of LTTE activities in the country," she said.
"As a 'sister', I advised Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe about the 'treacherous behaviour' of the LTTE and Prabhakaran at our meeting in Chennai in June," she said.
She said that the state police had sought legal opinion before taking action against Vaiko.
Jayalalithaa also cautioned PMK founder S Ramadoss and Dalit Panthers leader R Thirumavalavan about their pro-LTTE leanings.
Action would be taken against them if they were not careful in their public speeches, the chief minister said.
Both leaders had expressed sympathy for the LTTE cause after the state government initiated action against Vaiko.
For Vaiko, it has been a long journey since he left Chicago (US). Arriving in Mumbai early on Thursday, he reached Chennai in the evening and was immediately taken to Madurai where was produced before a magistrate on Friday morning.
He is to be detained at the Vellore central prison.
His lawyers have questioned the Madurai first class judicial magistrate's powers to pass a non-bailable arrest warrant under POTA, arguing that only a sessions judge had such powers.
Meanwhile, Vaiko has moved the Madras high court seeking permission to cast his vote in Monday's presidential poll. Justice V Kanakaraj is expected to give his ruling some time on Friday.
His lawyers are also examining the possibility of moving the courts seeking permission for Vaiko to attend the monsoon session of Parliament.
More reports on the controversy surrounding Vaiko
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