<p>Rajnath to take up issue with PM-elect<br /><br />Two NDA allies—the MDMK and the PMK—have urged Prime-minister-to-be Narendra Modi to reconsider his invitation to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to his swearing-in ceremony.<br /><br />MDMK chief Vaiko met with Modi and BJP president Rajnath Singh to convey his opposition to the invitation, while PMK chief S Ramadoss issued a statement in this regard in Chennai.<br /><br />“Rajapaksa is the butcher of Tamils. Modi should reconsider the decision to invite him (for the swearing-in ceremony),” Vaiko told reporters after meeting Modi. Vaiko did not confirm a response from Modi, but said he had requested Rajnath Singh to take up the issue with Modi.<br />Vaiko gave examples from the past, saying even Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh had not invited the then Sri Lankan presidents for their swearing-in ceremonies.<br /><br />On suggestions that Saarc leaders were invited to improve diplomatic ties, Vaiko asked what the diplomatic necessity was “when hundreds of thousands of Tamils were murdered” in Sri Lanka.<br /><br />Vaiko refused to reply to queries on whether he would boycott the swearing-in ceremony in the event of Rajapaksa participating. “I am waiting for a decision from Narendra Modi,” he said.<br /><br />“Respecting the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu, the invitation to Rajapaksa for the swearing-in of the Narendra Modi-led NDA should be reconsidered,” said PMK founder S Ramadoss in a statement in Chennai.<br /><br />DMK joins protest<br /><br />Meanwhile, DMK president M Karunanidhi said, “The Centre should deeply ponder on whether a person who had killed lakhs of Tamils, indulged in ethnic cleansing and someone who had waged a war against his own people should participate in the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi, and should request them to drop the initiative.<br /><br />“I want the new BJP government to realise the truth about pro-Tamil feelings at the initial stage itself,” said the DMK patriarch, who had greeted Modi and his party over their victory in the elections. <br /><br />Karunanidhi, whose party had snapped ties with the Congress over the Lankan Tamils issue, said the previous regime had turned a deaf ear on them.<br /><br />On Thursday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha had termed the invitation as “unfortunate”, saying it was “tantamount to rubbing salt in the wounds of an already deeply injured Tamil psyche”.</p>
<p>Rajnath to take up issue with PM-elect<br /><br />Two NDA allies—the MDMK and the PMK—have urged Prime-minister-to-be Narendra Modi to reconsider his invitation to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to his swearing-in ceremony.<br /><br />MDMK chief Vaiko met with Modi and BJP president Rajnath Singh to convey his opposition to the invitation, while PMK chief S Ramadoss issued a statement in this regard in Chennai.<br /><br />“Rajapaksa is the butcher of Tamils. Modi should reconsider the decision to invite him (for the swearing-in ceremony),” Vaiko told reporters after meeting Modi. Vaiko did not confirm a response from Modi, but said he had requested Rajnath Singh to take up the issue with Modi.<br />Vaiko gave examples from the past, saying even Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh had not invited the then Sri Lankan presidents for their swearing-in ceremonies.<br /><br />On suggestions that Saarc leaders were invited to improve diplomatic ties, Vaiko asked what the diplomatic necessity was “when hundreds of thousands of Tamils were murdered” in Sri Lanka.<br /><br />Vaiko refused to reply to queries on whether he would boycott the swearing-in ceremony in the event of Rajapaksa participating. “I am waiting for a decision from Narendra Modi,” he said.<br /><br />“Respecting the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu, the invitation to Rajapaksa for the swearing-in of the Narendra Modi-led NDA should be reconsidered,” said PMK founder S Ramadoss in a statement in Chennai.<br /><br />DMK joins protest<br /><br />Meanwhile, DMK president M Karunanidhi said, “The Centre should deeply ponder on whether a person who had killed lakhs of Tamils, indulged in ethnic cleansing and someone who had waged a war against his own people should participate in the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi, and should request them to drop the initiative.<br /><br />“I want the new BJP government to realise the truth about pro-Tamil feelings at the initial stage itself,” said the DMK patriarch, who had greeted Modi and his party over their victory in the elections. <br /><br />Karunanidhi, whose party had snapped ties with the Congress over the Lankan Tamils issue, said the previous regime had turned a deaf ear on them.<br /><br />On Thursday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha had termed the invitation as “unfortunate”, saying it was “tantamount to rubbing salt in the wounds of an already deeply injured Tamil psyche”.</p>
