The BJP is hopeful that the issue will come in handy in its efforts to gain political traction in the Dravidian territory during the Lok Sabha polls, more so as it involves neighbouring Sri Lanka whose treatment of its own Tamilian citizens and Tamil Nadu fishermen has long been a charged political issue in the state.
Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka's new President by Parliament, in a rare move that could provide continuity for ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout for the cash-strapped nation but a development likely to anger anti-government protesters who have been demanding his resignation from office for weeks.
The two brothers led a decisive campaign that helped end the island nation's three decade long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
In a televised address to the nation, Mahinda, who is under growing pressure to quit due to the worst economic crisis facing the island nation, said that he understands the people's sufferings.
"Presently, there are no Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody on fisheries related charges. However, some Indian nationals have been arrested in Sri Lankan waters on charges of smuggling narcotics and contrabands," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in Rajya Sabha.
Lanka is witnessing a political crisis since October 26 when President Sirisena sacked Wickeremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.
When the first flight arrived at Kushinagar airport on Wednesday, it was not Gota or Mahinda who stepped out, but another Rajapaksa. Namal Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's minister of sports.
A spokesman of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) said a video released by Ajith Dharmapala, a former police officer, claimed that President Rajapaksa was staying at the house belonging to Pathirana.
A host of issues ranging from demand for President's rule in Uttar Pradesh over "deteriorating" law and order to the plight of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka rocked Parliament on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed to Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe India's expectations from Colombo to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamil community in the island nation and ensure a life of respect and dignity for it.
Sri Lankan security forces raided the main anti-government protest camp at the President's Secretariat in Colombo early on Friday, arresting nine people and injuring several others, as the protesters continued to occupy the sensitive area despite the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president.
The anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka on Sunday continued to occupy the residences of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, a day after they stormed into the premises and set on fire one of the buildings protesting over the nation's severe economic crisis even as the island nation is still in the dark about the embattled President's whereabouts.
Colombo has seen to it that the MPs will have little time or opportunity to interact with the Sri Lankan Tamils, be they leaders from the Tamil National Alliance represented in Sri Lankan parliament or the local people who faced the brunt of the brutal war in April-May 2009, says S Murari
Sri Lanka's new Finance Minister Ali Sabry on Tuesday resigned, a day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed him after sacking his brother Basil Rajapaksa amidst the island nation's worst economic crisis.
During the 13-minute special session, Dhammika Dassanayake, ecretary general of Parliament, announced the vacancy for the post of president.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for not supporting the United Progressive Alliance government's efforts to pass a resolution in Parliament on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and rejected accusations hurled at the Congress.
Sri Lanka's former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is the youngest brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was stopped from boarding a flight to Dubai on Monday evening, local media reported.
The former champions were marred by a series of injuries, warranting replacements outside the original squad. That even led to a change of captaincy mid tournament.
Sri Lanka's main Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) on Tuesday handed over to the parliamentary Speaker motions of no-confidence against the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition government and embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, even as the government announced the appointment of a cabinet sub-committee to look into the proposal for a new Constitution.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is hopeful that the issue will come handy to its efforts to gain political traction in Dravidian state as it gears up for the Lok Sabha polls.
The ICC suspended Sri Lanka Cricket's (SLC) membership with immediate effect on Friday, citing government interference in cricket in the country.
Angry supporters of the hardline Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) attacked a garment factory on Friday and lynched its general manager Diyawadana, who was in his 40s, before setting his body on fire over allegations of blasphemy.
Political analysts said Sirisena's move to install Rajapaksa as the prime minister could lead to a constitutional crisis as the 19th amendment to the Constitution would not allow the sacking of Wickremesinghe as the premier without a majority.
The first batch of 2,400 Tamils lodged in camps for internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka were sent back home on Thursday as assured by the Sri Lankan government, said Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam Member of Parliament T R Baalu, who led a team of Tamil Nadu MPs to the island nation.
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
Engagement with neighbours is a strategic imperative, and not an option, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
The Sri Lankan prime minister also vowed to reopen Parliament, which was suspended on Tuesday by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Already retired from Test cricket, Sri Lankan opening batsman Sanath Jayasuriya hopes to play in next year's World Cup in the subcontinent before ending his illustrious international career.
The president of the Tamil United Liberation Front is in Toronto for a few days meeting with his constituents, Sri Lankan-Canadians, Canadian politicians at various levels, sharing with them how political conditions in his country have deteriorated. V Andasangaree, who was previously member of Sri Lankan Parliament, was a guest speaker at the opening of the exhibition The Call of the Conscience at Toronto's Royal Thompson Hall on August 25.
'Chief Minister Palaniswami is meeting Modi on December, 19, he may mention Tamil refugees when he talks to him.'
Notwithstanding the objections from India and Tamil minority parties, an "urgent bill" will be presented in Sri Lankan parliament next week aimed at diluting the provincial council powers devolved in terms of the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord.
Sri Lanka's former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka, who had dared to challenge the country's powerful President in the 2010 electoral battle, will now form his own political party.
India has been consistently calling upon Sri Lanka to fulfill its commitments to protect the interests of the Tamil community and preserve the island nation's character as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.
The president used her executive powers to impose the state of emergency which gives sweeping authority to the\n\nsecurity forces to arrest and detain suspects.
'Never expected, and never in history, not a single country has extended that kind of assistance'
The sources said friends of India prevailed over those of Pakistan in the European Parliament on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Trudeau's statements, asserting that they contained outrageous claims of genocide relating to past conflicts in the country.
Sri Lankans celebrated Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation as president, but they will understandably be concerned about the outcome of Wednesday's presidential election.
"Our traditional stand has been that we have never supported any country-specific resolution at the UNHCHR," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha as DMK, AIADMK and CPI members rushed to the Well raising slogans on the issue.
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