Indian govt refuses ally's demand to lift ban on Tigers
NEW DELHI, May 30: The new Indian government will not lift a ban on Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels despite a demand from a coalition ally, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said on Sunday.
"What is there will remain," Patil said when asked about the ban, as quoted by the Press Trust of India. He said the demand by Vaiko, leader of southern India's MDMK party, was a personal viewpoint and not government policy.
The Tamil Tigers were outlawed in India after being held responsible for the 1991 killing of former Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi, who had ordered a military intervention in Sri Lanka four years earlier.
India's ruling Congress party, now led by Sonia Gandhi, allied with the MDMK ahead of elections despite its stance on the Tamil Tigers. The alliance proved successful as the Congress-led coalition crushed Tamil Nadu state's ruling AIADMK party which supported India's defeated Hindu nationalist-led government. -AFP
