In a major setback to DMK chief Karunanidhi’s attempts to revive the defunct Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) the Chennai Police has denied it permission for a public meeting in the city on Sunday.

The police have cited eleven reasons for denying permission including lack of adequate space at the venue, including disturbance to the Royapettah Government Hospital nearby, traffic congestion and a possible law and order situation. In its party organ Murasoli the DMK had expected over a lakh people to attend the meet.

Earlier on Friday, the Centre had asked organisers to remove the word Eelam from the conference title, which refers to the creation of separate homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka. Although the DMK chief had earlier harped on that only Eelam would solve the Lankan Tamils crisis, he backtracked later by saying the conference would focus only on livelihood issues of the displaced Lankan Tamils. This dilution of stand came after the then Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram reportedly briefed him on the implications.

UPA’s senior leaders and Union Cabinet Ministers Sharad Pawar and Farooq Abdullah are scheduled to participate in a conclave in Chennai on Sunday as part of the TESO programme. Now there’s uncertainty over their participation.

Political analysts say this could not have come at a worse time for the DMK. After a huge defeat in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls the DMK chief they say was consolidating his vote bank by using the Tamil card to improve his party’s tally in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. - NDTV