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Now, Sri Lankan deputy foreign minister visits Sathya Sai Baba!

Fakir Chand in Bangalore

Even as a bloody battle rages for the control of Jaffna, Sri Lankan Deputy Minister for External Affairs Lakshman Kirella flew to Bangalore on Saturday, ostensibly to meet Sathya Sai Baba, who is camping at his ashram, Brindavan in Whitefield, 25 km away from the garden city.

Coming as it does in the wake of Sri Lankan Chief of Defence Staff General Rohan de Silva Daluvatte's visit to Bangalore earlier this week, Kirella's sudden visit has again fuelled speculation of consultations with the Indian authorities to bail out Lankan troops trapped in the Jaffna peninsula.

Amid speculation about the nature of his visit to Bangalore, police sources confirmed that the Lankan minister was on a private visit, having come to address a spiritual gathering on Sunday at Sathya Sai Baba's ashram. The Baba is a revered figure among the Sinhalese, the major community in Sri Lanka. The spiritual function is being organised by the Sathya Sai Foundation.

"Maybe, the Sri Lankans are coming for spiritual succour in the hour of adversity," said a government official, who did not want to be named. Kirella arrived in Chennai from Colombo before flying to Bangalore.

According to reports from Chennai, he denied that he was visiting India to hold talks with his India counterparts on the ongoing ethnic crisis back home.

General Daluvatte had also called on Sathya Sai Baba on Thursday though media reports speculated that he was on a secret assignment to explore the possibility of getting logistic support for his troops trapped in a fierce battle with the LTTE.

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