March 23: Chennai (PTI): The Tamil Nadu Government will not hesitate to initiate legal action if the Sri Lankan Government declared Kachatheevu islet in Palk Straits as a sacred area. Reacting to AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa’s Sunday’s statement on reports that the Sri Lankan Government has planned to declare Kachatheevu a sacred area, DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said enquiries have revealed that the island nation did not have any such intention.

Sri Lankan Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Dinesh Gunawardena had reportedly told the island nation’s Parliament that the islet would be declared a sacred area.

"A Sri Lankan Minister, while replying to a question in the Parliament, might have said something due to a slip of a tongue," Mr. Karunanidhi said in a statement here. However, he said, if it was real and the island government initiated any such action, his government would seek all details, inform the Centre and would not hesitate to take legal remedy to stop it.

Refuting Ms. Jayalalithaa’s allegation that his government is hand in glove with the Sri Lankan government, he said it would severely condemn any such efforts by Sri Lanka.