The BJP and the Congress on Friday congratulated Sri Lanka’s new President Maithripala Sirisena on his “historic victory” while the Communist Party of India (CPI) said the verdict symbolised a rejection of the politics of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
In her message, Congress president Sonia Gandhi described Mr. Sirisena’s victory as “emphatic and historic.” Underlining the historic and friendly ties between the two countries, she hoped that bilateral relations would strengthen further under his leadership.
The BJP’s Ram Madhav tweeted: “Congrats and welcome to new leadership in Sri Lanka. Congrats to people for peaceful and fair elections.’’
CPI national secretary D. Raja said India should work with the new government to find a political solution to the problem of ethnic Tamils. He also regretted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had wished for the victory of Mr. Rajapaksa, thereby creating an impression that he was campaigning for the outgoing President.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said as a democracy, India was proud of the democratic traditions in Sri Lanka and congratulated the neighbouring nation on the completion of its democratic exercise.
Reacting to the results of the presidential elections, Mr. Akbaruddin said in Gandhinagar, “Sri Lanka [has] voted for a change.”
Published - January 09, 2015 10:15 pm IST
