Chennai, Feb 18 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Monday accused archrival J. Jayalalitha of “telling a bundle of lies” about the DMK government’s support to Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, saying her “only aim is to get the DMK government dismissed”. He was responding to the AIADMK leader’s statements in an interview to her party’s television channel, Jaya TV, Sunday night. In the interview, the former chief minister said AIADMK MPs would raise in parliament the issue of DMK encouraging the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Accusing the central government of “lacking political will to do so”, Jayalalitha said her MPs “will seek the cooperation of parties that have faith in the sovereignty of the nation and concern for national security” to “seek the dismissal of the Karunanidhi government on this count (support to the LTTE)”.

In a six-page statement countering the AIADMK leader’s charges, Karunanidhi denied that his regime was “soft on the LTTE”.

He also recalled Supreme Court judges S. Rajendra Babu and G.P. Mathur’s interpretation that a section (3-1) of the draconian Prevention Of Terrorism Act could be construed to be terrorism only if support to extremist outfits led to terror against the state and people, and that mere oral support was not a crime.

Karunanidhi has earlier drawn flak for his ode to slain LTTE leader S.P. Thamilchelvan, who was killed in a bombing raid by the Sri Lanka Air Force in November.