Differing with its ally AIADMK on the Sethusamudram project, the MDMK on Sunday said it should be implemented without hurting the religious sentiments and affecting the livelihood of fishermen.
“If voted to power, MDMK will make efforts to realign the project in such a way that bigger
ships can use it... the project should be implemented without hurting the religious sentiments and allay fears of loss of livelihood for fishermen,” the party said in its manifesto released here.
The MDMK stand is in contradiction to the position of AIADMK, which has declared in its manifesto it would scrap the project, as it would cause ‘irretrievable damage´ to the environment and leave lakhs of people unemployed. It had also cited religious sentiments associated with ‘Ram Sethu.´
PMK and the Left parties, constituents of the AIADMK-led front, are also vocal supporters of the project.
Asked about AIADMK’s different stand on the issue, Vaiko, who released the manifesto, said differences do persist among allies, but they had “agreed to disagree”.
On the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, the pro-LTTE MDMK said only a separate Tamil Ealam would solve the ethnic problem in the island nation.
Claiming that the banned LTTE was fighting for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, the party called for revoking the ban.
It also said it would strive to retrieve Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Sri Lanka by India in 1974, saying the move had resulted in loss of livelihood for local fishermen as they were not allowed to fish there.