1 April 2013-A day after Union Shipping Minister GK Vasan said that the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) should be shifted out of Sri Lanka, Indian Union Minister V Narayanasamy on Saturday said that final call on it will be taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will discuss the matter with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and take a decision,” Narayanasamy said.
To a question on the controversy over the reported remarks by Sri Lankan High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam in the context of the Lankan Tamils issue, Narayanasamy said that he has to “work within the parameters and guidelines given to an Ambassador or High Commissioner.”
The government has got a feedback on the matter and “we will take a call at the appropriate time,” he added. To a question, he said the UPA Government was stable as it had the majority with the backing of SP and BSP and pointed out to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s remarks that his party had no plans as of now to withdraw its outside support to the UPA Government.
Terming the charges against Congress and the UPA Government on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue as ‘ill-founded’ and ‘motivated’, Narayanasamy alleged that students were being instigated by some persons to stage agitations on the issue.
India was one of the 25 countries that voted in favour of US-sponsored resolution at UNHRC against Sri Lanka where New Delhi pushed for an independent and credible probe into human rights violation charges and loss of civilian lives in the war in Lanka as demanded by political parties in Tamil Nadu, he told reporters at the airport here.
“That resolution has been passed by the UNHRC. As for India, it is one of the 25 countries (that voted in favour). India cannot ask for any resolution on its own as it has to seek support of others,” the Minister of State in PMO said.
State political parties’ criticism of his party and the government led by it were “ill-founded, politically motivated and (done to) sidetrack the issue as they want to keep the issue alive,” he said alleging students were being instigated (into taking up various forms of protests).
Students have been staging protests and demonstrations across Tamil Nadu on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
