Will ride in protest bus to Sanchi: Vaiko

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Brushing aside the appeal from Madhya Pradesh chief minister for restraint, MDMK chief Vaiko will board the bus to Sanchi on Monday to carry out his demonstration against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa arriving there for a Buddhist ceremony.

Vaiko will travel in a convoy of 10 buses from the Anna memorial at about 2 pm Monday and pass through Hyderabad, Nagpur and Bhopal before reaching Sanchi in time for his Sept 21 demonstration. He had written to Chouhan some days ago asking him to withdraw the invitation to Rajapaksa.

MDMK spokesman Nanmaran recalled Vaiko’s speech at Anna’s birthday rally in Karur on Saturday wherein he said the MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had written asking him to call off the protest, but he had decided to go ahead with his plan to hold a ‘peaceful’ demonstration against Rajapaksa’s visit because the Sinhala army had ‘massacred’ Tamils in the Eelam war.

In his letter to Vaiko, the MP CM said the Sanchi function, which was for laying the foundation stone of International Buddhist University, was “completely apolitical”. It should be seen as an endeavour to promote peace and harmony among the Asian countries, Chouhan told Vaiko.

The BJP leader assured Vaiko that he stood by the Tamils on the issue of human rights. Madhya Pradesh government’s objective in setting up a university at Sanchi was to “bring together various civilisations of the Asian countries”, he said, pointing out that dignitaries from Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Mangolia and Nepal have been invited to the ceremony.