Article critical of Jayalalithaa on SL Army website creates furore

Saturday, 2 August 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Defence Ministry tenders unqualified apology to Modi and Jayalalithaa over article; TN parties including DMK back Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

An unqualified apology

Following is the defence.lk’s unqualified apology An article titled ‘How meaningful are Jayalalitha’s love letters to Narendra Modi?’ had appeared on our website along with a graphical portrayal of Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The article which had been published without appropriate authorisation and not reflecting any official position of the Government of Sri Lanka or Ministry of Defence and Urban Development has since been removed. We extend an unqualified apology to the Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

PTI: Setting aside their differences, political parties in Tamil Nadu on Friday strongly backed Chief Minister Jayalalithaa after the Sri Lankan Army website carried an article critical of her, with an accompanying graphic image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hours after the article was published, it led to political furore accompanied by protests by AIADMK and Tamil outfits in various parts of the state besides NDA allies demanding India severe ties with Colombo even as the piece was later removed from the website. Even as Jayalalithaa urged Modi to demand an unconditional apology from the Sri Lankan Government over the issue, the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry issued the same. The original article can be found at http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2014/07/31/how-meaningful-are-jayalalithas-love-letters-to-narendra-modi/ The Tamil Nadu BJP unit said publishing of such a derogatory article on an official website was not acceptable. Party’s State General Secretary Vanathy Srinivasan said that India should summon the Sri Lankan envoy and “convey our feelings”. “We should strongly condemn it as it was published in an official website of the Sri Lankan Government,” she told PTI. However, she was not in favour of severing ties with the island nation, as demanded by her party’s Tamil Nadu allies, the PMK and the MDMK. The DMK also slammed the Sri Lankan Government over the episode and demanded an apology. Party Spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan described the article, which mocked Jayalalithaa’s writing of letters to Modi on issues involving Sri Lanka, as “cheap”. No matter what the differences were, a Chief Minister cannot be depicted in such manner, he said. PMK founder S. Ramadoss said that the article was in bad taste and not only demeaned Jayalalithaa, but also Modi. Referring to criticism in the article about Jayalalithaa writing letters to Modi on issues relating to Indian fishermen involving Sri Lanka, he said such commentary on an official Government site amounted to ‘interfering’ in the internal affairs of the country. He alleged that the visit of a BJP delegation led by Party Leader Subramanian Swamy to Sri Lanka had emboldened that country to make such remarks. Holding that India should not allow Sri Lanka to continue with such practices, he urged New Delhi to summon the envoy of that country and lodge a strong protest. “The Sri Lankan President (Mahinda Rajapaksa) and Defence Secretary should apologise for the article. If the Sri Lankan Government declines to do so, India should not hesitate to sever its relations with that country,” Ramadoss said. He said that it was not proper to degrade Jayalalithaa, who was not only an elected leader, but also a woman. MDMK Leader Vaiko described the incident as “unforgivable” and said it showed the “atrocious” nature of the Sri Lankan Army. Jayalalithaa’s letters to Modi were not mere communication, but her “struggle” to ensure the welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamils, he said. “Those letters are representative of the feelings of 7.5 crore Tamil people,” he said and faulted the BJP delegation’s visit to the island nation. “India should immediately take action against Sri Lanka and sever ties with that country. Else there will be a suspicion if the Narendra Modi Government had joined hands with Sri Lanka in its anti-Tamil measures,” he said. TNCC President B.S. Gnanadesikan also criticised the article and said he had taken up the matter with the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission, seeking its removal from the website. “There may be political differences, but portraying a Chief Minister in an indecent manner is not acceptable,” he said.

Tamils issue an internal matter of Sri Lanka: Seshadri Chari

Seshadri Chari, National Convener of BJP’s Foreign Policy Cell, today denied a report quoting him as saying that India has told Sri Lanka that the Tamils issue should be resolved for making progress on bilateral trade and commerce. Referring to a PTI report from Singapore last week in this regard, he said he never spoke these words in a seminar there. Chari said in Colombo, which he had visited from 20 to 22 July, he had expressed his opinion that the Tamils issue was an internal matter of Sri Lanka and should not be internationalised. “I am a votary of greater trade and commerce with Sri Lanka,” he said in a statement here. However, PTI stands by its story which was based on a tape-recorded interview Chari had given in Singapore to the PTI correspondent on 25 July evening on the sidelines of the seminar he had attended.

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