TN protests move to invite Rajapaksa

Joining chorus with other political parties in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister J Jayalalitha on Thursday described the invitation extended to Sri Lankan president Rajapaksa to the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister as “unfortunate move” and said the initiative has deeply upset the people of the state.

“The sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu and Tamils living in other parts of India and abroad are well known in the matter pertaining to Sri Lankan Tamils. The new government is to take charge in a few days, but this in no way alters the already existing strained relations between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka,” the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo said.

She said that though Tamil Nadu demanded an economic embargo on Sri Lanka over war crimes, the previous Central government chose to ignore it and thereby trampled on the sentiments of the Tamils.

“We had hoped that the new government to be formed at the Centre would be sympathetic to the cause of Tamils and friendly towards Tamil Nadu. However, even before the new prime minister and the new government assumed office, this unfortunate move of inviting the Sri Lankan president has deeply upset the people of Tamil Nadu,” she said.