Tuesday, May 31 2005 16:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Pondicherry: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said in Pondicherry today (May 31, 2005) that neither the Tamil Nadu Government nor any political party in the State was encouraging" the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) activities and "the presence of somebody does not mean that it is there."

"The Government has taken some action. There is no presence of anybody (LTTE) and if there is, it does not mean that it is an encouragement. No leader in your State is encouraging...and if somebody is hiding, we shall have to live with the realities of life," he told reporters, after inaugurating the 23rd meeting of the Southern Zonal Council in Pondicherry this afternoon.

On Naxalites activities which also figured in today's meeting, Patil said that the extent of naxalite activity in the Southern States had not come down to the level as in Jammu and Kashmir and in North Eastern States.

The issue was being tackled and while the menace in Jammu and Kashmir had come down to the extent of 70 per cent and in North Eastern States, it now ranged between 20 and 40 per cent, it had declined only by four per cent in the Southern States, which was not "very encouraging," Patil said.