Ensure justice to Tamils: Modi to Rajapaksa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to ensure the minority Tamils of the island nation “a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity”.

A day after taking over as the new Prime Minister, Modi on Tuesday had a bilateral meeting with Rajapaksa and requested him “to expedite the process of national reconciliation in a manner that meets the aspirations of the Tamil community for a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity in a united Sri Lanka”.

Rajapaksa was among the leaders of the seven South Asian countries, who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Modi and his council of ministers on Monday. Besides Rajapaksa, Modi had bilateral talks with five other leaders of the Saarc nations— Pakistan Prime Minister M Nawaz Sharif, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.

He also had a meeting with Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, who led the delegation from Dhaka for Monday’s ceremony as the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was on a tour to Japan.