Mahinda proposes, Wiggie disposes

Saturday, 24 May 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Northern CM spurns President’s invite to travel with him to Modi’s oaths ceremony
GL writes to Wigneswaran asking him to join Presidential delegation to Delhi on 26 May
To accept would be to “facilitate tokenism,” says Wigneswaran
Modi’s election has revived Government’s desire to cooperate with Northern PC: CM
Chief Minister ‘welcomes’ spirit of cooperation implied by invitation

In an apparent bid to reach out to the Tamil National Alliance, President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited the Northern Chief Minister to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Indian Premier designate Narendra Modi, but the former Supreme Court Judge has declined the overture. “I am pleased to extend to you an invitation to be a member of the Presidential delegation attending the ceremony, at which the Oath of Office to the Prime Minister-designate of India will be administered,” External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris wrote in a letter of invitation to Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran yesterday. But in his reply to Minister Peiris, Justice Wigneswaran said acceptance would indicate there was a strong cooperative spirit prevailing between the Centre and the Province. “I would be guilty of facilitating tokenism were I to accept such an invitation,” the Northern Chief Minister replied. Instead, the peoples of the north were engulfed in a climate of fear on account of the continued presence of the military while the activities of the Northern Provincial Council have been stultified, Wigneswaran said. The Chief Minister said it was an “auspicious sign” that the election of Narendra Modi had revived a spirit of cooperation towards the Northern Province by the Government. “Given the untold hardships of the peoples of the Northern Province and the strictures on the functioning of the Northern Provincial Council, this is indeed welcome,” he said. In his letter, Wigneswaran said he had already sent his greetings to the Prime Minister-elect of India through the High Commissioner for India in Sri Lanka. Amid worsening relations between the Northern Provincial Council and the Rajapaksa Administration in Colombo, the Chief Minister acknowledged the spirit of partnership and goodwill expressed by the invitation. But he added the spirit of cooperation would continue to ensure the electoral mandate of the Northern Province would be fulfilled and the fundamental rights of its people preserved. In a media release yesterday, the President’s Office said his attendance at the Indian swearing-in had been formally confirmed on Thursday through diplomatic channels, and the President’s official Twitter account. The President was one of the first world leaders to call Modi to congratulate him on his party’s landslide victory earlier this month, the statement said. Soon after the call, Modi had responded with a tweet to thank President Rajapaksa for his call: “It was wonderful speaking to you earlier today. I look forward to strong relations between Sri Lanka and India,” the President’s Office said. (DB)

Modi-Ranil powwow

Indian Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe held a brief discussion on the telephone on Thursday, highly placed sources told the Daily FT. During the telephone conversation, Wickremesinghe was invited to New Delhi for discussions with the new administration, the sources said. The Opposition Leader has also held discussions with several leaders of the Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP), including L.K. Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh since the party’s polls win, Daily FT learns. While Wickremesinghe has not received an official invitation to attend Modi’s oath-taking ceremony Monday (26), there has been an unofficial invitation from the BJP in the party-to-party talks, sources in New Delhi told the Daily FT. However, the Opposition Leader will not attend the ceremony but is expected to travel to New Delhi for talks with the new Indian Government in due course, sources said.