The incident has triggered a political row in Tamil Nadu. Parvathy, afflicted by a stroke, and accompanied by her aide, Vijayalakshmi, had touched down around 10:45 pm in a Malaysian airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur only to be denied entry by the Immigration Authorities. She was sent back on the same flight to Malaysia, sources said.
While immigration officials were tight-lipped on Saturday on the reasons for their action, top police sources said there was a “lookout notice on her (Parvathy).”
The mother of Prabhakaran was to go to Tiruchirappalli from here for further medical treatment, sources said.
However, even as Parvathy was inside the aircraft, some airport doctors went aboard and checked her medical condition. With the immigration not clearing her entry she was asked to go back, sources said.
MDMK leader Vaiko and Tamil Nationalists Movement founder Pazha Nedumaran, both strong LTTE supporters and who were at the airport to receive Parvathy, were stopped from even entering the visitors’ lounge.
Already “numbed by the tragic developments” in Northern Sri Lanka, Parvathy Ammal was taken to Malaysia first after her daughter Vinodhini (now staying in Canada) wanted her mother to be in that country for further medical treatment, Vaiko said on Saturday.
Papers in order
Claiming that the Indian government had issued a visa for Parvathy to visit Tamil Nadu to help her avail the “excellent medical facilities here” before going to Canada , Vaiko said all her travel papers were in order.
Nedumaran was to first take Parvathy to his residence in Chennai before starting the medical treatment. “But the two of us alone were physically stopped by the police from even entering the airport to receive the visitor,” Vaiko alleged.
Parvathy’s luggage, which exited the aircraft through the conveyor belt, was also sent back.
Flummoxed at the Central government’s sudden change in its decision, Vaiko also blamed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for the incident.
Vaiko condemned as “double standards” the approach of the host country and the DMK leader in particular, pointing out the red-carpet welcome given to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakshe at the Tirumala-Tirupati temple last year.
“Opposition parties led by MDMK will go on a day’s fast here on April 23 to protest this terrible injustice meted out to an elderly Tamil woman,” he added.