Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko on Monday, dubbed the photographs released by the Sri Lankan army which shows him with Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam chief V Prabhakaran as old ones and said there is an "ulterior motive" behind it.
"These are old photos. The Sri Lankan government has released them with an ulterior motive. Anyhow, I am proud about the photos. If I get an opportunity, I will again visit Wanni," Vaiko, known for his strident pro-LTTE stand, told media-persons in Tirunelveli.
Sri Lankan Army today released photographs and video footages of Tamil Nadu politicians, including Vaiko, with Prabhakaran in LTTE camps in Wanni.
Vaiko, who undertook a clandestine trip to Jaffna in 1989 as a Rajya Sabha member of the then ruling DMK, also rejected charges that he was receiving funds from the LTTE. "There is no necessity for us to take money from LTTE. If we do politics by taking money from LTTE that will be worse than prostitution," he said.
Vaiko was speaking to reporters on his release on bail from the Palayamkottai Prison here where he was lodged afterhis arrest for attempting to show black flags to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee during the latter's visit to Tuticorin on February 28.
