REFUGEE

CHENNAI: While the Telangana issue has plunged Andhra Pradesh into chaos and political crisis, a similar demand is being heard in neighbouring

Tamil Nadu, among the more developed states and one with no history of any strident plea for statehood from within.

A few days after some fringe caste outfits raised the banner, demanding that Tamil Nadu be divided into two, with Chennai and Madurai as capitals, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Dr S Ramadoss on Saturday made a similar suggestion, favouring the creation of smaller states for faster development. "Small is beautiful," he said, reiterating his decade-old demand for the bifurcation of Tamil Nadu.

"It will be better to bifurcate the state," he told reporters here, affirming that his party was for splitting Tamil Nadu. He had suggested the creation of a 'South TN', with Madurai as its capital, a decade ago. "When I floated the idea then, it was vehemently opposed. Now there will not be any opposition," he said confidently.

Having quit the AIADMK-led alliance a few months ago, the PMK is now politically isolated and unlikely to get any support on the statehood issue from the Dravidian majors.