The Communist Party of India has said India should “keep off” the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo and not even have ministerial-level representation at the multilateral summit later this month.
CPI Rajya Sabha member D. Raja said this demand was not new as the party had supported the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly calling for a “total boycott” of the meeting in Sri Lanka to express solidarity with Tamil sentiments on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.
“Even the Congress had supported this resolution,” Mr. Raja pointed out adding that Congress leaders were now speaking in different voices on the issue. While Union Minister G. K. Vasan wanted India to boycott the summit, Minister of State for Commerce E.M. Sudarshana Natchiappan was in favour of India’s participation.