Naval ships to SL: Jaya shocked

11 September 2013 02:27 pm Views - 4147

Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa expressed shock over media reports quoting Union minister for state in Prime Minister's Office, V Narayansamy that the Union government was in the process of supplying two naval warships to Sri Lanka.

Jayalalithaa urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clarify the issue without any delay. "Even if there is an existing agreement for supply of naval warships, I request you to immediately cancel the agreement and ensure that no support of any kind is provided to the Sri Lankan military forces," she said.

Any move, Jayalalaithaa said, to supply military hardware to Sri Lanka would be the most telling statement about the insensitivity of the Union government towards the strong anti-Lanka sentiments in Tamil Nadu.

Far from holding the Sri Lankan regime accountable for its acts of genocide and war crimes against the Tamil speaking minority in the country as any champion of democratic values should, the Union government's action would be seen as actively working with the regime and providing them with the necessary wherewithal to act even more strongly against Tamils. "I shudder to even countenance such an insult to the people of Tamil Nadu," she said.(Times of India)