MR wants good ties with India

Monday, 29 December 2014 00:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that he wants to maintain a good relationship with India as he has in the past. Addressing an election rally in Nuwara Eliya, the President also assured Indian origin Tamils, that he will ensure they are given better living conditions including permanent houses.

He said that Ceylon Worker’s Congress (CWC) leader Arumugam Thondaman had offered him unconditional support for the presidential elections next month. However he noted that following the election he hopes to sit down with Thondaman and discuss, in detail, the issues faced by the estate community. The President insisted that he will protect all communities, including the Indian origin Tamils in Nuwara Eliya and urged them not to be misled by false propaganda. Rajapaksa recalled that during the war there were so many restrictions but the people now enjoy true freedom as a result of the defeat of the LTTE. CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman, in his speech, noted that the Opposition is campaigning for the presidential election with the promise of bringing change but in his view only President Mahinda Rajapaksa can bring change. (Colombo Gazette)