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Union Minister of State for Non-Conventional Energy Sources and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M Kannappan on Thursday said the question of his disqualification does not arise, as his speech supporting Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam did not amount to violation of the oath of office.
"We have at no point of time mentioned that we are not concerned with the sovereignty and integrity of India. So the alleged support to the LTTE will not amount to violation of the oath of office," Kannappan said at a programme organised by the Coimbatore Press Club.
"It is an incorrect and a politically motivated one," he said in reaction to the demand by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Members of Parliament seeking resignations of the MDMK ministers on the ground that the pro-LTTE speech amounted to violation of the oath of office.
The minister said the MDMK would support any organisation, which fought for the rights and self-respect of the Sri Lankan Tamils. "We have rendered our moral support to the LTTE only on that basis," he said.
"Support to the LTTE does not mean that their functioning should be allowed on Indian soil," Kannappan pointed out.
"MDMK will vehemently oppose any organisation, which instigates violence or indulges in anti-national activities in any part of India," he said, adding that this had been the clear-cut policy of his party from its inception.
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