NEWS
ANALYSIS
SPECIALS
INTERVIEW
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
CONSTITUENCY
ISSUES
GALLERY
MANIFESTOS
INDIA SPEAKS!
COUNTDOWN
CHAT
PREVIOUS RESULTS
SCHEDULE
DISCUSSION GROUP

Lanka following poll developments closely

India's general election is the focus of attention in Sri Lanka, in anticipation of its ''repercussions'' on Colombo, apparently in the wake of two BJP allies in Tamil Nadu taking ''a pro-LTTE stand'' in their manifestos.

A foreign ministry research unit, approved by the Sri Lankan cabinet, has been asked to closely monitor the political scene in the southern Indian state and its impact on the ongoing rebel crisis in the island nation.

The Sunday Times has reported that the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has said a separate Tamil Eelam was the ''only lasting solution'' to the rebel crisis in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the manifesto issued by the Pattali Makkal Katchi reportedly articulated that Tamils in Sri Lanka have been treated as ''second class'' citizens in the past 50 years. As a separate Tamil Eelam was the only way to end their (Sri Lankan Tamils') problems, the PMK would press the Indian government to recognise the rebel struggle as a ''national liberation movement'', the manifesto said.

Some local newspapers were filled, almost to page-length, with coverage and analyses of the Indian general election which is a popular subject of discussion among politicians, intellectuals and the grass-roots in Sri Lanka. Indian journalists posted in Sri Lanka often encounter questions about political prospects of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report