Tamils should not expect India to intervene-Swamy

5 September 2013 05:39 pm Views - 4658

Former union minister and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today said that ‘Tamils should forget that India will ever again intervene in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka, except to raise issues of bilateral agreements and treaty obligations in a friendly way of a cohort and within the SAARC and UN framework.’

Addressing the defence seminar in Colombo Mr. Swamy said, “the misguided activities of fringe groups and low-level knee-jerk competitive politics of parties in Tamil Nadu, are not worth any attention since we mainstream patriotic Indians are clear: We are Indians first and Tamils afterwards.”
Speaking of the Tamil Eelam concept, Swamy said, “The support for the so-called "Tamil race" theory and therefore Eelam as a Tamil homeland, has now sharply dwindling support amongst Sri Lankan Tamils and even in fringe groups in Tamil Nadu with the realisation of common ancestry.”

“And hence if there is a conflict of interests between the sectional and national interests, then Indian national interest will prevail at all costs,” he said.

“The Indian Constitution mandates that under Articles 247, 256 and 356, and I as a senior Minister in 1991 had enforced those provisions of the Constitution to have the President dismiss the DMK state government and crush the pro-LTTE movement in Tamil Nadu. There is now no overt presence of LTTE anywhere in India,” he said.

“If necessary, we will again invoke those provisions of the Constitution if it becomes necessary in the future, for which eternal vigilance is essential,” he said.