Slamming the BJP Government’s policy vis—a—vis Sri Lanka, the party’s Tamil Nadu ally MDMK on Saturday said that it was acting against the minority Tamils and warned that this may have repercussions in the future.
MDMK founder Vaiko took objection to senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s demand that India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, be conferred on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, saying the saffron party cannot ignore its responsibility by just distancing itself from Swamy.
“Though the previous UPA discreetly helped Sri Lanka against Tamils, it later backtracked, but the BJP Government is openly aiding Colombo,” he charged.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This is infuriating. It amounts to demanding Bharat Ratna for General Dyre who led the Jalianwala Bagh massacre. Have the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) or others from BJP condemned Swamy for this? No. They cannot ignore their responsibility by saying it was his personal opinion,” he said in a statement.
Vaiko also opposed various other steps initiated by New Delhi regarding Sri Lanka, including hosting its top Defence officials.
The NDA Government thought that there was none to question it and its continued ‘anti—Ealam Tamils’ stand will have its own repercussions in the future, Vaiko said, even as the BJP aims to put up a good show in Tamil Nadu in the 2016 Assembly polls.
ADVERTISEMENT