Vaiko celebrates Prabhakaran's 60th birthday, slams PM Modi for greeting Rajapaksa

Chennai: Despite criticism from several quarters, MDMK founder Vaiko and hundreds of his supporters on Wednesday celebrated the 60th birth anniversary of slain LTTE founder V Prabakaran.

As per reports, the MDMK supporters cut cakes and held meetings at various places remembering the slain LTTE chief's struggle for the cause of common Tamilians.

The MDMK chief Vaiko even condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for greeting Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa at the SAARC summit. In a statement, the MDMK chief said "I am terribly pained at the attitude of my Prime Minister. It's atrocious to commend the racist President who has killed several Tamils. And the PM of India is wishing him I am ashamed of it. I condemn it."

Importantly, Vaiko's MDMK is an alliance partner of the BJP-led NDA in Tamil Nadu.

Vaiko's call for celebrating Prabhakaran's birthday was criticised as an anti-India move and triggered tension with several parties demanding the Centre to ban such celebrations.

Vaiko, a self-confessed supporter of Prabakaran and his idea of a separate homeland for Tamils - the Tamil Ealam – had last week called for celebrations and prayers in places of religious worship at 7.18 pm on 26 November, to mark the time of birth of the former rebel leader.

Celebratory chants should ‘reverberate’ the cause of Tamil Ealam on that day, he had said in a statement.

Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy later urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to issue a directive to the Tamil Nadu government to ban the move to celebrate birth anniversary of slain chief of LTTE chief, who was responsible for killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"These celebrations are being organised by MDMK leader Vaiko. MDMK must be ejected from the NDA and Vaiko should be locked up under the National Security Act," Swamy said in a press release.

The BJP leader said that the directive should be issued under Article 256, which mandated the state to ensure compliance with the laws made by Parliament and any existing laws which apply in that state.

Prabakaran, who led an armed struggle against the Sri Lankan Army in the backdrop of the ethnic strife involving majority Sinhalas and minority Tamils, was killed in a military offensive in 2009.