Jayalalithaa hits out at Lanka, bars its IPL players from Chennai

CHENNAI: A day after she brought the IPL establishment to its knees by refusing to host Sri Lankan players in Chennai, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa continued to ramp up the Eelam rhetoric on Wednesday. She moved a resolution in the state assembly, demanding that a referendum be held among Sri Lankan Tamils on a separate Eelam (Tamil land) and urged India to take up the issue in the UN Security Council.
Jayalalithaa has also urged the Centre to stop referring to Lanka as a friendly nation and impose economic sanctions on the country for alleged war crimes, in a move that smacks of political one-upmanship against the DMK. The resolution and her statements against Sri Lanka are likely to ensure there is no rethink on the decision to bar Lankan cricketers from IPL matches in Chennai.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) cleared their players to take part in the IPL despite the belligerence in Tamil Nadu, but the decision was panned by their World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga. Speaking to TOI, Ranatunga, who is also a Sri Lankan Member of Parliament, said the players should opt out of this “money-making venture of the BCCI”.
Jaylalithaa described as a victory for her government the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) decision not to hold any cricket match in Tamil Nadu if Lankan players were involved.
On Tuesday, Jayalalithaa, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has described the atmosphere in the state as “hostile and tense” over the Lankan Tamil issue following a series of protests and rallies. In her letter on Tuesday, she said, “In view of the popular antipathy and anger in Tamil Nadu against the actions of the government of Sri Lanka, the state government is of the view that IPL matches involving Sri Lankan players, umpires and other officials should not be played in Tamil Nadu.” She said her government would permit IPL matches to be held in Tamil Nadu only if the organizers provide an undertaking that no Sri Lankan player, umpire, official or support staff participates in these matches.
Following her missive, IPL’s governing body met to take stock of the situation and decided against IPL franchises fielding any of the 13 Lankan players in the city. “The governing council decided that Sri Lankan players will not participate in the IPL league matches in Chennai, and advise the nine franchises accordingly,” IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said in a statement.
The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)’s reaction has been muted. It has given clearance to players to take part in the IPL despite the Tamil Nadu CM’s criticism and censure, but the decision was panned by their World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga. Speaking to TOI, Ranatunga, who is also a Sri Lankan Member of Parliament, said: “Even when Sri Lanka was at war, Indian teams came and played here. We also went to India and played matches. We never felt that there was any threat to our lives. I think it’s absolutely untrue that the Sri Lankan players’ safety would have been under threat if they were playing in Chennai.”
He went on to add that both Jayalalithaa and DMK chief M Karunanidhi are playing the Sri Lankan card because elections are round the corner.