Sonia Gandhi cancels election rallies due to LTTE threat

Walter JAYAWARDHANA

The Times of India reported that Sonia Gandhi's Chennai and Puducherry election rallies have been cancelled due to security reasons.

Pro-LTTE organizations in Chennai had announced that they would stage demonstrations against Sonia's visit in Tamil Nadu. The UPA Chairperson was originally scheduled to arrive in the Tamil Nadu capital after going to Puducherry.

She was scheduled to go to Puducherry and then fly back to Chennai to address a rally in support of the Karunanidhi led DMK and Congress candidates.

She is campaigning for the May 13 Lok Sabha polls. While the May 6 rally was cancelled no new dates have been announced.

Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia's late husband was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber while campaigning for an election in a suburb of Chennai at Siriperumbudur.