LTTE threat to Sonia Gandhi and children

Worries are mounting in New Delhi about intelligence reports of the strong prospect of at attack on the Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi, her children, and other top political leaders of India by the LTTE, during the current election time in India.

The Indian Home Ministry has issued an alert urging the tightening of security when Sonia Gandhi and her two children Rahul and Priyanka, already among the most highly most highly protected public figures in India, canvass for support for the Congress party and its allies in the current campaign for elections to the Lo-----K Sabha.

Although the alert was not specific on the nature of the threat, security analysts in India see a major threat from the LTTE as the intelligence warnings say that Sonia Gandhi and her two children could be attacked because of India not pressuring Colombo to implement a ceasefire with the LTTE. The threat also covers other prominent Congress leaders.

It will be recalled that in May 1991, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, husband of Sonia and father of Rahul and Priyanka, was assassinated by a suicide killer of the LTTE when canvassing for the Lok Sabha polls in Sriperimpudur, Tamil Nadu. The LTTTE used a woman suicide killer for the assassination. The LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and its Intelligence Chief Pottu Amman are still wanted by the Indian Courts in connection with this assassination.

Indian intelligence sources are also concerned by the inflammatory language being used by key LTTE supporters and secessionists in Tamil Nadu, as the LTTE faces defeat from Sri Lankan troops fast advancing on the narrow strip of land where it continues to hold Tamil civilians hostage.

The "Hindu" has reported, April 09, in a speech delivered on Wednesday (08), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader V. Gopalswamy, also known as Vaiko, warned of large-scale secessionist violence if Sri Lankan forces killed LTTE chief V. Prabhakaran.

He also made a reference to the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Sriperumbudur, and warned India of a secessionist movement if it did not push for an end to Sri Lanka's anti-LTTE campaign.

The Hindu states the MDMK polemic isn't the sole cause for concern among the intelligence services. Facing annihilation in Sri Lanka, many analysts fear, the LTTE could unleash violence within India to coerce its political leadership and create conditions where it could set up safe havens in Tamil Nadu.

In recent weeks, the LTTE has succeeded in slowing down the offensive Sri Lankan military operations by using the civilian population in the Mullaitivu region as human shields, the Hindu states. (PRIU)