Chennai: A Special Chennai Court sentenced the MDMK General Secretary and LTTE supporter Vaiko to a one year jail term in a sedition case filed against him in 2009. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 for making the seditious speech which led to the case being filed against him.
The court found Vaiko guilty under the Section 124(a)(sedition) of IPC. The judge has allowed Vaiko to appeal to a higher court against the verdict within a period of one month.
Speaking to about the verdict the MDMK leader said, “Yes I spoke the same. I spoke my mind in a book released by Nedumaran. I spoke because Indian unity should not be split. It’s not against the country. I spoke about Tamil Eelam tigers in Parliament too.”
He also added that he has not sought leniency in the case and asked for many jail terms. He insisted that he will plant the seeds of his ideas in the minds of the youth.
In his 2009, Vaiko said that India will not remain as a single country if the war against LTTE by Sri Lankan forces was not stopped. Vaiko was a hard core supporter of the banned terrorist outfit Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and admired its leader Prabhakaran and his idea of a separate homeland for Tamilians.