Visit Jaffna: Wigneswaran writes to Indian PM

Friday, 1 November 2013 03:50 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran has invited the Indian Prime Minister to visit the provincial capital of Jaffna, but the invitation does not refer to the tour being part of the Commonwealth Summit. In a letter dated Monday (28) Wigneswaran thanked the Indian Government for persuading the Sri Lankan Government to hold the Northern Provincial Council elections in September, India’s The Hindu newspaper reported.

The invitation comes amid calls for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s boycott of CHOGM in Colombo this month by the Tamil Nadu state assembly which passed a resolution last week demanding a full boycott of the summit. Following a meeting of Congress Party leaders on Wednesday night however, Indian media reports indicate the Prime Minister may attend the summit despite the pressure from Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is also scheduled to travel to New Delhi on what has been termed a ‘private visit’. “Basically, Mr. Wigneswaran would like Dr. Singh to engage both in Colombo and Jaffna. This also shows that Sri Lanka’s Tamil community wants India to remain engaged on issues important to them such as national reconciliation, political devolution of power and resettlement of the displaced,” The Hindu said, quoting official sources. Wigneswaran previously called on the Indian Premier to attend the summit in Colombo, creating a major controversy in Tamil Nadu.