Ignoring TN CM's video message at 'Naam 200' in Sri Lanka is deplorable, says TN Minister

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Monday said Chief Minister M K Stalin's video message was not aired at the ''Naam 200'' event marking the bicentenary of the arrival of Indian-origin Tamils (IOTs) to Sri Lanka and sought to know the underlying reasons for it.

Although several leaders from India addressed the 200th anniversary of the IOTs in Lanka on November 2, the video address of the Tamil Nadu chief minister was not telecast, he said, and wondered why it was skipped, especially after the organisers sought and obtained it.

''I was constrained to cancel my visit to Sri Lanka (to attend the meeting) on the night of November 1, as till 8.30 pm, I could not get the 'political' clearance from the Central government,'' Thennarasu told reporters here.

With the state officials informing him of the remote possibility of receiving the clearance, he had to cancel the overseas visit and inform the organisers, who, on November 2 morning, called and requested the chief minister's message, he said.

The Centre's nod, however, was given late on the night of November 1, and by that time he had called off the visit to the island nation, he said.

The following morning, the organisers requested the chief minister for his address. Accordingly, the video message was sent on time to the organisers but it was not telecast, Thennarasu claimed.

Asked if this was so because of the Centre's interference, the minister replied, ''I don't wish to directly name anyone. But, I leave it to your speculation on why the organisers could not telecast the chief minister's video message.'' On whether the permission was denied, the minister said he had sought clearance from the Centre following the due procedure on October 28. ''I was at the Secretariat till 8.30 pm on November 1. Since I did not receive any information, I had to call the organisers and inform them about the cancellation of my visit.'' Thennarasu was to have represented the state government at the event which took place at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, Colombo.

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