The Tamil Nadu government on strongly defended the Indian Central Government ban on the LTTE, which was extended recently for two more years. Delhi High Court judge Justice Vikramjit Sen is the one-man tribunal set up by the Centre to go into the validity of the ban, which was clamped under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Tamil Nadu said lifting the ban at this juncture would imply allowing such a deadly foreign terrorist organisation to operate fully from India, and this would give the outfit a tremendous psychological boost. Counsel for the State S. Thananjayan prayed for its continuance.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko made a fervent plea before the tribunal that he be heard as one of the parties. When the judge pointed out that under the provisions of the Act, only an office-bearer or a member of a banned organisation could challenge the ban, Mr. Vaiko said that according to the Centre, the LTTE was decimated. The LTTE could not represent itself before the tribunal as it had no office-bearers, and it was banned in India. He said the MDMK was cited as one of the political parties supporting the LTTE, and this was cited as the reason for the ban. Therefore, he was entitled to make his representation on behalf of the Tamils. Vaiko said there was not a single valid reason for imposing the ban.