DMK chief M. Karunanidhi on Friday led a state-wide protest in Chennai against the visit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India, accusing him of making efforts to “annihilate” the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Wearing black shirt, the protesters gathered under the banner of the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation, which Mr. Karunanidhi had revived some months ago, and shouted slogans against Mr. Rajapaksa, who is on a pilgrimage to Tirupati and Bodh Gaya.
Mr. Karunanidhi charged the Sri Lankan President with attempting to not only to “annihilate” the Tamil population but also erase the Tamil language.
Party Treasurer M K Stalin and other senior party leaders were present.
Effigies of Mr. Rajapaksa were burnt and lawyers boycotted courts in some parts of the state, protesting the visit. - IANS
800 taken into custody near Tirupati
Rajapakse was greeted by protestors today in Bodh Gaya in Bihar, where he visited Buddhist temples.
800 people in the Chittoor district, where the temple is located, just 135 kms from Chennai, have been taken into preventive custody; they were reportedly planning large protests.
