"He Gave Eelam Tamils Motherly Love": TVK Chief Vijay's Praise For Rajiv Gandhi Killer

In a move that is likely to stoke controversy, Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay on Saturday racked up the Sri Lankan Tamil issue and praised Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) late chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was the mastermind behind former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, and stressed the need to "give a voice to the Sri Lankan Tamils" living in the country.

The Sri Lankan Tamils, several are refugees who fled the neighbouring country to India during the civil war. The LTTE, which was banned in India isince the 1990s was an armed force that ruled in northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. It  fought to set up an independent Tamil state for decades, until its defeat to the Sri Lankan state in 2009. Prabhakaran , was killed by the Sri Lankan army the same year.

Addressing a crowd in Nagapattinam as part of his campaign in the election-bound Tamil Nadu, Vijay reached out to the Sri Lankan Tamils and suggested that Prabhakaran was "like a mother" to the community. The issue of Sri Lankan Tamils is emotive in Tamil Nadu especially amongst the fishermen in areas like Nagapattinam. 

"At the same time, our umbilical-cord kin, the Eelam Tamils, whether they are in Sri Lanka or anywhere else in the world, are suffering after losing a leader who showed them motherly affection," Vijay said, in a clear reference to Prabhakaran. "It is our duty to raise our voice for them," he said.

It is not the first time that Vijay showed his support for the Sri Lankan Tamils. In 2008, he joined a hunger strike in Chennai to protest the killing of the community members in Sri Lanka. How we support for the Lankan Tamils is not the same as endorsement or support for the LTTE which is proscribed in India. 

Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman had hatched a plot to kill Mr Gandhi in 1991, a year after the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) left the Sri Lankan shores after fighting the LTTE for nearly three years. It is alleged that Prabhakaran wanted to avenge the Prime Minister's decision in 1987 to deploy Indian peacekeeping force troops in Sri Lanka.

The LTTE has never officially admitted to killing Mr Gandhi, who was blown up by a Sri Lankan Tamil woman suicide bomber at an election rally near Chennai in 1991.

After the assassination, India outlawed the LTTE - which was earlier based in Tamil Nadu and enjoyed New Delhi's blessings in the 70s and early 80:- and declared Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman proclaimed offenders.

Besides praising Prabhakaran, Vijay asserted that resolving the issues faced by fishermen remained one of his party's top priorities. "We are not like the DMK government that writes a long letter about the fishermen's issue and then remains silent. Finding a solution to the fishermen's problem is one of our key agendas," he told the crowd, as he took a swipe at the MK Stalin-led administration.

The lives of fishermen were important, but "the dreams and lives of the Eelam Tamils are equally important to us", he said.

"I had spoken at the Madurai conference about the reasons behind Sri Lankan navy attacks on our fishermen and the possible solutions. It is my duty to stand with fishermen," he added.

Several other Tamil political leaders, including late DMK Chief M Karunanidhi had made controversial comments about Prabhakaran who is seen as a contentious figure with an appeal amongst Tamil hardliners.