Jain Commission Fallout
Commision's Omissions

The initial revelation of the Jain Commission's interim report have, predictably, created a controversy. There are charges that Jain was selective in his indignation and that he did not attach sufficient importance to the testimonies of various individuals. In particular, the interim report has been criticised for prejudging the issue and partial use of available evidence. INDIA TODAY collates some of the contrarian testimonies. Excerpts:

"The first attempt was made through raw and Kittu was contacted. Then in March 1989, Karunanidhi and Rajiv Gandhi agreed to send a delegation to Prabhakaran. In May 1989, Rajiv told Maran to convey a message to Prabhakaran that he should distance himself from Premadasa and Rajiv Gandhi would give him Eelam." (V.P. Singh's testimony)

"When Karunanidhi proposed sending a DMK emissary to talk to the LTTE, I had said that we would gladly provide the facilities to make such a visit possible. After Karunanidhi's meetings with me on the 15th and 16th of March, you had further discussions on the modalities and parameters with Ronen Sen of my office and Kuldip Sahdev of the Ministry of External Affairs. You had said that as a first step you may want to try to establish contact with the ltte through your own channels ... (My) office contacted you on the 12th April ... and reiterated the earlier understanding and the willingness of the government of India to provide all facilities for the proposed initiative of the DMK." (Rajiv Gandhi's letter to Maran, May 15, 1989)

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