Prabhakaran waited for Indian poll results

NEW DELHI: Velupillai Prabhakaran was waiting for the results of Indian elections to plan his next strategy in the 30-year-old civil war in Sri Lanka and was apparently hoping that either the NDA or the Third Front would come to power in New Delhi, but the army there had different plans.

It has now emerged that the 54-year-old slain guerrilla leader was waiting till May 16, the day results of Lok Sabha elections were known, to decide on his and the outfit's future, but it was too late as the Sri Lankan Army had by then cut off all the escape routes.

"Till May 16, he (Prabhakaran) was hoping that someone will interfere and stop the army from entering the final 'No Fire Zone' where he was held up," Sri Lankan Army sources said.

On May 16th afternoon, LTTE announced that it would allow all civilians trapped in the area held by them to leave to safety, apparently after knowing that the Congress, which it believed was hostile to him and the outfit, was set to return to power.

Sources in the Tamil polity in Sri Lanka said the LTTE was hoping that there would be a popular upsurge for it in Tamil Nadu, where the general elections
were fought on the Eelam plank, and that the Third Front or the NDA could come to power.

"This (election results) might have upset Prabhakaran and other leaders of the outfit, but they did not have time to think or plan anything. They were boxed by the Army by that time," the Tamil sources said.

The LTTE chief would have thought that the Third Front and the NDA would not be so hostile as the Congress was, they said, adding that once the people started leaving the war zone, Sri Lankan Army swiftly rescued the civilians and took them to safe zones.

AIADMK's Jayalalithaa, who was part of the Third Front, expressed support to the Sri Lankan Tamils cause and had even promised to send Indian Army to carve out Tamil Eelam from Sri Lanka if a government of her choice came to power in New Delhi.

On May 16 afternoon, LTTE's International Relations head Selvarasa Pathmanathan issued a statement in which the outfit virtually accepted defeat and asked the "global community to save the people of Wanni."

They said Prabhakaran did not expect that the Sri Lankan forces would encircle him and his aides "so soon".

The army also got a tip off from LTTE Sea Tigers chief Soosai's wife, who was taken into custody while trying to flee the island, that Prabhakaran and the top brass were still inside the war zone.

"This emboldened the Army which went all out against the Tigers and virtually encircled them in a 2 sq. km area in the Wanni region on May 16. That gave no chance for any of the Tiger leaders to escape," the sources said.

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BJP should give up 'Hindutva': Vaidya

NAGPUR: Criticising the BJP for its "inconsistency" in toeing the 'Hindutva' policy, senior RSS ideologue M G alias Baburao Vaidya said the party should give up the policy as it has "failed" to attract commoners. Narrating the history of the then Jana Sangh which later converted into BJP, Vaidya, in his weekly column in local Marathi daily 'Tarun Bharat', said BJP had adopted Gandhian socialism, but could not stop itself from being labelled as a communal party.

After the 1984 general elections drubbing, BJP again started chanting 'Hindutva'. BJP came close to power, but could not sustain its strength. Party leaders had no patience and almost forgot 'Hindutva' and its basic principles, the former RSS
spokesperson alleged.

"The party came to power again (in 1999), but after losing it in 2004, it again turned towards 'Hindutva'. BJP mentioned 'Hindutva' in its election manifesto in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections, but it miserably failed to attract the common voters and citizens in the country," Vaidya said.

"The BJP has failed to convey the real meaning of 'Hindutva' to the people. Probably they thought not deemed to climb the pedestal of power with 'Hindutva' line. Hence, BJP should now disassociate itself with 'Hindutva'." he said, but added, "If the BJP gives up its 'Hindutva' line, it will automatically snap its umbilical cord with the Sangh."

However, he said, it would not have any impact on the RSS.

BJP would have ample opportunities to get a modern outlook, Vaidya added.

"If BJP gives up 'Hindutva', regional parties like Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Telugu Desam Party will rush to it and internal bickering in the JD(U) will also finish," he said.

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ISI maintains link with militant commanders, says Musharraf

LONDON: Former Pakistan President General Parvez Musharraf has conceded that his country's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) maintains link with militant commanders like Sirajuddin Haqqani, suspected of having masterminded the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul.

Musharraf said that ISI had "used Haqqani's influence" to get Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan, who was abducted by Tehrik-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, released.

Haqqani, "is the man who has influence over Baitullah Mehsud, a dangerous terrorist, the fiercest commander in South Waziristan and the murderer of Benzir Bhutto, as we know today," Musharraf told Der Spiegel in an interview.

"Mehsud kidnapped our Ambassador in Kabul and our intelligence used Haqqani's influence to get him released. Now that does not mean that Haqqani is supported by us. The intelligence service is using certain enemies against other enemies. And it is better to tackle them one by one than making them all enemies," he said.

On US media reports that ISI had systematically supported Taliban, the former Pakistan President said, "Intelligence always has access to other network -- that is what Americans did with KGB, that is what ISI also does."

Sirajuddin Haqqani is the son of renowned Mujaheedin commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, who is now one of the foremost commanders of Afghan Taliban. Haqqani brothers have been accused of masterminding the attack on Indian embassy in Kabul on July seven, 2008.

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