“I am not an authority to ask someone to surrender either on behalf of the Indian government or the Sri Lankan government. I do not know who is behind this story,” Ms Kanimozhi has told The Hindu when asked about the claim made by Ms Ananthy, who is also Northern Provincial Council (NPC.)

Ms. Ananthy in an interview to this newspaper and her deposition before Mullaithivu Magistrate Court had said her husband had a conversation with Ms. Kanimozhi over a satellite phone before taking a decision on surrender.

“I even do not know who Mr. Sasitharan is, because he is not a front line leader of the LTTE. Secondly the suggestion of advising him over satellite phone is totally wrong,” she said, wondering whether anyone would advise a person to surrender to the Sri Lankan forces when the war was at its peak.

DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan also wanted to know whether anyone would repose faith in former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and urge a militant to take a decision of surrender.

“In 2009, we were constantly fighting with the Indian government seeking its intervention to stop the war and save the Tamils. Do you think we would have come out with the idea of surrender when we were not even able to convince the Indian government. There is no logic,” Mr Elangovan said.

He said anyone who knew the way the LTTE functioned would be clear that they were not an organisation to take advice from others when it came to the question of surrender.

“Would a cyanide-carrying LTTE cadre make a phone call all the way from Sri Lanka about surrender,” he asked.