ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 26, New Delhi: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was among the leaders of South Asian nations who attended the swearing-in ceremony of new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
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Text of Narendra Modi’s speech at Central Hall of Parliament
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PTI Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi addresses the BJP parliamentary party meeting at the Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday. Photo: PTI -
PTI Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi gets emotional while addressing the BJP parliamentary party meeting at the Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday. Photo: PTI
Respected Advaniji, our national president Rajnathji and
all Chief Ministers of Bharatiya Janata Party and newly elected members,
I am grateful to all of you for having unanimously given me a new
responsibility. I am thankful and grateful, particularly to Advaniji and Rajnathji as they have given me blessings.
I was thinking of Atalji’s health. Had his health been good, he
would have been with us today and his presence would have completed this
moment. His blessings are with us and will be with us in future.
We are here in the temple of democracy. We will work with all purity...
not for the post but the people of the country. Work and responsibility
are the biggest things. I accept the responsibility you have reposed in
me.
For me post is not important, I have not considered that post is
important in life but in my view responsibility is the bigger thing.
We will have to dedicate ourselves to fulfill this responsibility. In
last September 13, 2013, the BJP parliamentary board gave a
responsibility to me and from September 15, I started my work and with
full sense of responsibility of a worker. The parishram yagya,
which I began at that time and when the campaigning ended on May 10,
2014, I rang up my president and wanted to meet him before going to
Ahmedabad. He asked if I was not tired and needed a break but I insisted
on reporting to him as the responsibility given to me had been
completed on May 10.
And like a disciplined solider I reported to my president that from
September 13 to May 10, I have tried to fulfill my responsibility to the
best of my ability. In this campaign, I had to cancel only one event
and that too in Ghosi where our district president had died suddenly.
And I told him that as a loyal and committed worker, I am reporting to
you on this sacred land. Whatever was given to me, I have tried to do
and fulfill the role of a party worker.
After I became Chief Minister, I saw Chief Minister’s chamber for the
first time. Today also it is the same situation as I have come to this
historic Central Hall for the first time.
I salute all freedom fighters and also salute makers of the Constitution
of our country as because of them, the world is witnessing the power of
democracy. When global leaders called me, I told them about millions of
voters of India. They were surprised. It is the power of our
Constitution that a poor person belonging to a poor and deprived family
is standing here today. This is the power of our Constitution and
hallmark of our democratic elections that a common citizen can also
reach this height. The BJP’s victory and somebody else’s loss is a point
for debate later. Citizens have realised that this democratic setup can
fulfill their aspirations. Their faith in democracy has strengthened
further.
A government is a one which thinks about the poor, listens to the poor
and which exists for the poor. Therefore, the new government is
dedicated to the poor, millions of youth and mothers and daughters who
are striving for their respect and honour. Villagers, farmers, Dalits
and the oppressed, this government is for them, for their aspirations
and this is our responsibility. And this is our responsibility. I have
seen new facets
of our country in my campaign. I have seen people who had only one piece
of clothing on their body but had the BJP’s flag. This section is
looking at us with hope and aspirations. And therefore, our dream is to
fulfill their dreams.
Advaniji has used, I would urge Advaniji not to use that word. He said that Narendra Bhai has done him kripa.
(Breaks down and there is a pause for a few moments)
Please don’t use this word. Can a son ever do his mother kripa? It can never be. Like India is my mother, the same way the BJP is also my mother. And therefore, a son can never do kripa, he can only dedicatedly serve his mother. Kripa is by the party, it has done me the favour of giving me an opportunity to serve it.
Various governments in the past tried to do some good work in their own
way for which they deserve appreciation. Whatever good has happened, we
will carry it forward. We will give something to the country. People
should not become pessimistic. I have not seen television and media,
everyone has been analysing this verdict… people have voted for hope.
This verdict is of hope. I had said earlier that this election is of
hope.
A new hope has arisen in the common man. This is the biggest significance of this election results.
But by giving the BJP an absolute majority they have voted for hope and
trust. People have voted for hope and faith and I will do everything to
fulfill their aspirations. There should be no room for pessimism and
because with pessimism nothing can be achieved. The government’s motto
will be to be with everyone and for everyone’s development. This is the
time for new hope and strength.
An era of responsibility has begun. In 2019, I will meet the MPs again
with a report card. My government is not for myself but for the country.
The government is for the poor and we want to do something for them.
I will strive my best to fulfill the responsibility you have reposed in
me. You will never have to look down on the work it will do.
We were not fortunate to have died for the country, but for every
citizen born in independent India, he should dedicate himself to live
for the country. Every moment of our lives and every speck of our body
should be dedicated to 125 crore people of this country, we have to
carry this dream. The country will then progress rapidly.
I am by nature an optimist. It is written in my DNA. Disappointment does
not just gel with me. On this occasion, I wish to repeat what I had
said in my speech in a college here. Just see this glass of water, some
say that it is half filled with water and some say it is half empty. My
thinking is of third type. I say this glass is half filled with water
and half with air. You may be seeing it half empty but I don’t see it
that way. That’s why I say that I am by nature an optimist. And for
traversing a constructive path, it is important and essential to be an
optimist. Only an optimistic person can bring and instill hope in the
country. Pessimistic persons can never give hope to the country. Adverse
times and hardships do come in everybody’s life. In 2001 when
earthquake struck Gujarat, we were all stricken by death and there was
destruction everywhere. Everyone the world over thought it was all over.
But in no time, Gujarat once again stood up on its feet. We will have
to leave pessimism behind. Who says that such an aware democratic
country — the largest in the world cannot move forward? If 125 crore
Indians resolve to take one step forward, the entire country will travel
125 crore steps forward.
Which is the other country in the world which has six seasons? This land
of ours is blessed, our land is fertile, full of natural resources.
People from our country go abroad and earn name and fame, we only have
to give opportunity to them here.
In this election, we stressed on two things — sabka saath, sabka vikas.
We want everyone’s progress and development but it is as important that
we take everybody along with us. This election symbolised new hope, I
have such able colleagues with me and with guidance from my senior
leaders, I have full faith that the responsibility which was given to me
on September 13, 2013 and which was completed on May 16, 2014 and with
the new responsibility given to me today, I assure you that when we meet
in 2019, I will place before you my report card. I will try and achieve
the pinnacle of perseverance and hard work.
The coming year 2015-16 is important to us all, it will be Pandit Deendayal Updhyaya’s centenary year, chairaveti, chairevetimantra
was given by him and this led to establishing a system of sacrifice and
hard work. We have to think about how to fulfill his dreams and work
and strive to fulfill them. Party and the government should also think
about this as to how to celebrate this coming event. Antyodaya,
the service of the downtrodden, that is what Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya
had stressed. That is why I say that this government is for the poor and
deprived. In global perspective also, this election of India and its
results are being viewed in a very constructive and positive manner. And
the first message that goes out to the world is that it is not
important that millions of people have made some party victorious or
made someone a prime minister. But it is important that millions have
given a good mandate and have held India’s position high in the world
that is the message of these elections. Who won and who lost is not
important. These are the results which will attract the world to India
and to its democratic traditions, and capabilities. Hope has been
kindled in a common citizen of India and the same hope has arisen in
humanitarian forces in the world. This is a very good sign.
Brothers and sisters, once again I express my gratitude to millions of
workers who have toiled hard for this victory. Modi which is before you
and which you can see is because Modi is hoisted by senior leaders of my
party on their shoulders. Whatever we have achieved today, is because
of sacrifices made by past five generations. Jan Sangh was not known to
the people, some thought it is a social, cultural organisation. Today, I
salute all those generations who made sacrifices for nationalist
causes. We should not forget that we are here today because of
sacrifices made by the past generations. This victory is of millions of
our workers. If we think like this, there will not be any opportunity
for our society and party to have any complaints. BJP is the party which
relies on its strong organisation, that is our strength and none of us
is either away or above the organisation.
You have given me this new responsibility, Advaniji has given me
blessings. You have reposed faith in me and have expectations from me
and I assure you that you will not have any occasion of feeling let
down. Once again, I thank you all.
14 comments:
Our Blessings of the Noble Triple Gem of Buddhism, the Lord Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, are with Narendra Modi as he takes on the responsibility to Guide India towards a new Asokan Age.
May his victory herald a more supportive Indian Foreign Policy towards our Motherland of Sri Lanka that shares the Indian heritage.
Aiyoo ... Pau Aney! Jayalolita "Amma", used to being the Star of the Drama and having even her Ministers worship her prostrating themselves in front of her to keep their jobs in Tamil Nadu, is UPSET and FRUSTRATED at not being the KINGMAKER in a BJP coaltion. With her knickers twisted in knots, she SKIPPED Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony!
I think many such moments are in store for her in the next 5 years of roaming the wilderness as the Queen of Tamil Nadu, but an ABSOLUTE NOBODY in the Federal Govt. Narendra Modi's LANDSLIDE victory is giving her the FITS!
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Why Jayalalithaa gave Modi's swearing-in a miss
By N. Sathya Moorthy
Rediff.com
May 28, 2014
The presence of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was not the only reason why Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa stayed away from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa kept the nation waiting for a while before deciding to skip the historic swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jaya, like most other Tamil Nadu politicians, cited the invitation of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt ceremony, but the reasons in the case of each one of them could be many.
Having become used to seeing their leader draw the centre-stage in Delhi whenever she visited the national capital, party cadres would have been upset and demoralised to see ‘Amma’ as a one-in-five thousand crowd. After all, they too had worked alongside to hand over 37 Lok Sabha seats to her out of a total of 39 from the state.
As can be understood and appreciated, ‘Amma’ could not have afforded the cadres to feel that all their sweat and blood had gone waste. Their dreams of seeing her in the prime ministerial gaddi have ended up with not even in an alliance-taker of the P V Narasimha Rao (1991) and the A B Vajpayee (1998) coalition kind from the past.
Worse still for the party, the ministerial drought at the Centre for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam would continue possibly for five years more. It started after Jayalalithaa abruptly withdrew support to the Vajpayee Government in 1999, leading to its collapse and fresh elections to the Lok Sabha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the cynosure of every news camera on Monday evening, and possibly from the world over. It could have been Jaya’s day too if there was a coalition government -- and possibly her own, instead, if cadre hopes and pollster-predictions of a possible third front government had materialised.
In the event, Jaya, even if offered a front row seat, would have still come second, third or further down in the pecking order, as the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s warrant of precedence would have commanded. In this case, state chief ministers, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party and National Democratic Alliance partners like Telugu Desam Party’s N Chandrababu Naidu, found themselves seated in the third or the fourth row, behind sadhus and sanyasis.
With Tamil Nadu down the line at 24 in the alphabetical order of state names, Jayalalithaa might have been placed a couple of more rows behind -- unless someone in the PMO or the BJP had taken care not to upset a non-existing apple-cart.
...Continued 1,,,,
In this case, the Tamil Nadu CM would have been seated not only inconspicuously, she would have also been placed way behind President Rajapaksa. Protocol required that the visitor had a front-row seat. Even if deliberate, TV cameras thus could not have avoided Mahinda with his physique and in his eye-blinding white with trade-mark maroon satta/shawl falling from his shoulders. Not only the AIADMK cadres but even other pan-Tamil groups and sympathisers back in Tamil Nadu, however supportive of Jayalalithaa’s leadership of their larger ‘Tamil causes’, would have felt uneasy at such a sight.
Such a sight could have only given the first post-poll handle for the rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to target her, after the party had suffered a severe and wholly unexpected drubbing in the LS elections. Other rivals might demur, not knowing, how things would -- and would have to work -- for them in the state assembly polls two years hence. But the DMK’s ageing and exhausted patriarch, M Karunanidhi, would have gone all out -- particularly after some Sri Lankan Tamil parties and groups are now ready to crown Jayalalithaa as the ‘uncrowned empress’ of the global Tamil clan.
Karunanidhi could not stomach it when the imaginary crown passed on purportedly from him to the LTTE’s Prabhakaran without anyone noticing, a decade or two back. Now, he could not stomach/afford it coming back to Tamil Nadu, but to adorn some head other than his, that too almost for good, given his advancing age and declining political fortunes.
Unlike Jayalalithaa, who is also often referred to in the local and national media as a personal friend of the new prime minister, Karunanidhi and his DMK have nothing to lose by giving the Delhi ceremony a miss. Though at one stage, in the early days of alliance-making for the polls, Karunanidhi had described Modi as his ‘good friend’. They had hardly met but once at a Delhi conference of CMs -- no one missed either him or his party at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it would seem.
The DMK has drawn a huge blank in the LS polls. After the Supreme Court verdict that judicially-convicted persons could not hold elected office, thus disqualifying T M Selvaganapathy, like Bihar’s Lalu Prasad Yadav before him, the DMK is left with three members in the Rajya Sabha. Among them is Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, re-elected last year for a second term, in a total of 17 from the state. In the normal course, the three alone would have received the routine invitation for the swearing-in.
The Mahinda episode having provided the reason, justification and/or excuse for all TN parties, including former Union minister G K Vasan of the Congress, to take potshots at the new government at the Centre, the most regional parties starting with the high-profile AIADMK could choose not to send their MPs for the swearing-in sans their respective leaders. The DMK too could not have done anything else, given Karunanidhi’s longer and more strident pan-Tamil politics running to seven long decades and more.
In this case, both Jayalalithaa and Kanimozhi had corruption cases against them coming up in Delhi courts only hours earlier on the day of Modi’s swearing-in. Appearing in the Enforcement Directorate case in the larger 2G scam before the trial court, Kanimozhi sought bail along with then DMK telecom minister A Raja, now trounced in the Lok Sabha polls by his AIADMK rival. Karunanidhi’s ageing and ailing wife Dayalu, sought and obtained exemption from personal appearance from the Delhi court.
....Continued 2...
On Jaya’s interlocutory petition in the ‘disproportionate assets case’ pending before a Bangalore trial court from her first term (1991-96), the vacation bench of the Supreme Court, which also was headed by the same judge otherwise hearing her case, granted a stay of the relevant proceedings till June 6, entailing a further delay. The court had frowned on the ‘delaying tactics’ of the defence, on another procedural issue relating to the Bangalore court and case, brought before it by the defence.
Under the circumstances, it would have been embarrassing for all concerned, if in either of the cases, or both, the respective courts had passed adverse orders -- or, even oral observations -- against the petitioner-leaders concerned. If they were then to appear in Modi’s swearing-in, there would have been palpable and even more avoidable embarrassment all around. It would have become worse if some nosy TV news crew were to put up the mike and camera before them for comments on the court proceedings of the day.
If in Jaya’s case, her second-line leaders would have also missed the usual retinue of CPM and CPI leaders calling on her at Delhi. Their consolation -- and the ‘miss’ hence -- could be that the other two present-day ‘giant killers’ in national politics, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee and Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, too chose to ignore the ‘Modi darbar’. But that was only a small consolation, considering that Jaya had missed out possibly greeting and meeting her friend of a prime minister even minutes, or hours, before the ‘adversary’ from across the Palk Strait, whom she has anyway not seen face-to-face even once.
If so much for indomitable Jayalalithaa giving the Modi swearing-in the miss, less said about lesser political mortals in the state, the better. For Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Vaiko, too, Mahinda provided the handle, not only to stay away from the Modi show, he having lost in his native Sivakasi constituency of his own choosing – for the second time in a row, and in the BJP’s NDA company this time. There was no chance that the BJP could have played along with motivated Tamil media plants to make a non-party NDA ally from the electoral past a Rajya Sabha MP from one of the party-ruled states, and reward him with a ministerial berth in advance.
Not that the Modi leadership, keen to improve ties with the neighbours for starters, would have been able to countenance Vaiko’s pan-Tamil, anti-Sri Lanka stance, propelled and propagated as it has been by the separatism-centric Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora, beyond a point. By courting arrest against Mahinda’s invitation and visit in Delhi, Vaiko can now hope to revive the sagging morale of his residual party cadres. It is highly doubtful if that would also help revive his sagged-out political career, ministerial hopes at the Centre and one-time chief ministerial ambitions, too.
Less said about the BJP’s PMK ally, founded by Dr S Ramadoss, whose son Dr Anbumoni was the only NDA candidate to win an LS seat (from Dharmapuri), apart from BJP’s Pon Radhakrishnan (Kanyakumari). On Monday in Delhi, Radhakrishnan alone was sworn-in as a minister of state by President Pranab Mukherjee. Anbumani’s non-inclusion in the ministry reportedly owes to the pending criminal case against him in the ‘medical college recognition case’ during his UPA-1 innings as health minister with a Cabinet rank, when corruption charges against Dr Ketan Desai, then president of the Medical Council of India, hit the nation on its face.
The BJP is also unhappy that Ramadoss Sr and the latter’s close aides had almost not campaigned at all for alliance-partners, miffed as the senior was about more seats being given to the new-found DMDK ally of the BJP under actor-politician Vijakant than his PMK. In the process, the DMDK drew a huge blank in all 14 seats it had squeezed out of the BJP-NDA, like the MDMK, which happily settled for half that number but without quibbling or quarrelling.
....Continued 4....
Yet, Modi seemed to have had a word of praise for Vijaykant and his wife Premalatha, for their effective campaigning for all NDA partners at the parliamentary group meeting where he was formally named the prime minister nominee. The local media has reported that the BJP would have the likes of DMDK to merge with the party, for Vijaykant possibly to lead the NDA in the state assembly polls of 2016. Newly-inducted minister Radhakrishnan as the BJP state president has since sent out an open invitation for all small parties (no names mentioned) to consider merging with the larger, national ally.
However, Radhakrishnan being given only an MoS post when the state has given a total 18.5 per cent vote-share to the BJP-NDA (though only two MPs), more than four times the national-level Congress rival’s vote-share and only a fourth less than the mainline DMK rival of the ruling AIADMK has not gone unnoticed. That Radhakrishnan was MoS even under Vajpayee and has not even been given ‘Independent’ charge this time, when first-time MPs have been conferred the honour, too has been noticed. Though not in his circles and in the state BJP, in due course, they too will have questions to answer from political rivals, friends and the local media, alike on that score.
In the final analysis, the politicians’ boycott of the Mahinda-attended Modi swearing-in ceremony could not be criticised over much, considering that Indian cinema’s superstar Rajnikanth too stayed away, as did the other star, Vijay. Rajni’s family however honoured the invitation and attended the Delhi function, it is reported. It was the kind of decision/risk that the superstar cold not have missed, given past experience of actors like Vijay and Ajith, whose films came under release-pressure, both nearer home and more so overseas, where Tamil films have a rich and regular market in SL Tamil diaspora communities in particular.
Rajni just now has his multi-million Kochchadaiyan real-life animation film, on the screen for less than a week, and could not have afforded the risk. Vijay having burnt his fingers earlier and still having his films alternating between super-success and super-failure, too could not have afforded to risk a repeat, now or later. Yet, Rajnikanth fans at least could take heart in the post-result SMS that went viral, like all other ‘superstar’ quips, particularly from around the release of his block-buster Robot (Enthiran in Tamil) in 2010: 'How did Modi win big? Because Rajni hugged him when the latter called on him, for blessings and support ahead of the polls…'
N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and political analyst, is director, Chennai chapter of the Observer Research Foundation.
The TNA is proposing to engage in MORE TREASON by appealing to Jayalolita for help in FORCING a "political solution" on the "Tamil issue" in Sri Lanka.
The "Political Solution" they demand is a SEPARATE COUNTRY for Tamils-ONLY in Sri Lanka, where they can exclude Sinhalese from settling, while millions of Tamils have moved to, and live among Sinhala people, other Provinces of Sri Lanka.
Apparently, EQUAL citizenship in ALL OF Sri Lanka, and the RIGHT TO LIVE ANYWHERE in Sri Lanka, is NOT ENOUGH for these UNREPENTANT RACISTS. THey want to CUT OUT their own cake in Sri Lanka, and eat a part of the rest too.
Inviting Foreign Powers to intervene in Sovereign Sri Lanka's Internal Matters is OUTRIGHT TREASON.
The GOSL must ACT to ARREST, PROSECUTE, CONVICT and SEVERELY PUNISH by death, imprisonment, and confiscation of property these SEPARATIST TRAITORS.
ACT FAST, ACT NOW .... there is ENOUGH EVIDENCE of their TREACHERY accumulated over the last 35 years!
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Sri Lanka Tamil party congratulates Tamil Nadu CM, seeks a meeting to resolve national issue
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 29, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance today congratulated the Chief Minister of India's Tamil Nadu state Ms. J. Jayalalithaa for her "resounding victory" at the recently concluded elections to the Lok Sabha and sought a meeting with her to discuss the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka.
In a congratulatory message to the Chief Minister, TNA leader R. Sampanthan on behalf of Sri Lanka's Tamil people said her victory is an "astounding achievement" and is "indicative of the influence which you have the capacity to wield."
He appreciated the Chief Minister's continuing concern towards the resolution of the Tamil question in Sri Lanka and said the party looks forward to working closely with the CM and her government to further strengthen the ties.
Recalling that following the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983, Sri Lanka accepted the good offices of India to bring about a final and acceptable resolution of the national conflict, the TNA leader said India has and continues to play a role in the process.
"The Tamil People in Sri Lanka do not desire a recurrence of violence. Their desire is that they and all other Sri Lankans are able to carry on their lives in the territories they live in, based on equality and justice," Sampanthan wrote in his letter to Ms. Jayalalithaa.
He said violence ended with the end of the armed conflict in May 2009 and opportunity presented for a permanent solution but Sri Lanka unfortunately has not honored the commitments it made to India and to the International Community to bring about an acceptable political solution.
....Continued 1...
Including a letter TNA wrote to the new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the TNA leader said the Sri Lankan government is aggressively pursuing an agenda to radically alter the demographic composition of the majority Tamil speaking territories, the Northern and Eastern Provinces and also change the ethnic, linguistic and cultural identities of those territories.
Sampanthan said the actions of the government are clearly indicative of the lack of genuine commitment on the part of the government to evolve an acceptable political solution.
"Such actions of the Sri Lankan government undermine all efforts towards reconciliation, permanent peace and harmony, create an environment that promotes hostility and further cause irreparable and irreversible damage to the Tamil speaking peoples in the territories historically inhabited by them," the TNA leader said in his letter.
He said the party has appealed to the Prime Minister that India's continued role should ensure that an honorable peace based on justice and equality should be brought about in Sri Lanka and asked the Chief Minister for her continued and fullest support to achieve the above.
The Sri Lankan government accuses the Tamil party of promoting separatism and not making an effort for genuine reconciliation as evident by their continued resistance to participate in the parliamentary select committee (PSC) to achieve a sustainable solution to the Tamil issue.
The PSC has several times appealed to the TNA to join the process and even foreign governments, including India, have also urged the TNA to join the PSC to discuss the political solution but despite those requests, TNA is adamant on its stance and continues to boycott the PSC.
...My Comment on a post at LankaWEb.com .....
I could not agree more with your statement “WE SHOULD NOT create a SPECIAL CLASS OF PEOPLE called Tamils. Tamils have already given too much.”
This should be the CRUX of GOSL’s stand against Devolution of POWER to ANY MINORITY. Power is ALREADY devolved to the sovereign people of Sri Lanka through the equal rights they now enjoy as Sri Lankan citizens without regard to their Race, Creed, Caste, Class, Language, Sex or Wealth, and the right to elect their Representatives to the National Parliament.
In a democracy no additional special rights can be, or should be, accorded to any community, for that would discriminate against the inalienable right of EACH and EVERY citizen of Sri Lanka to enjoy the resources and benefits of an undivided nation in EQUAL MEASURE.
However, I could not disagree more with your next statement ” IT is time Tamils move into North & East and leave Colombo & southern cities FREE of their cancer.”
Let us not lump ALL Tamils together as Eelamists, Separatists and Traitors, and deny them the EQUAL RIGHT that they are entitled to as Sri Lankan citizens, including their right to peaceably live anywhere they wish in Sri Lanka as LAW-ABIDING citizens.
That applies to people of ALL COMMUNITIES of Sri Lanka, be they Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians or Muslims.
In fact, it is on that very basis of EQUAL CITIZENSHIP that we as Sri Lankan patriots can OPPOSE and FIGHT AGAINST THE EXCLUSIVE DEVOLUTION OF POWER TO SEPARATE COMMUNITIES in different regions of Sri Lanka, for such a communal devolution of power DISCRIMINATES against ALL CITIZENS and disinherits them of EQUAL ACCESS to the benefits and resources of Sri Lanka as a whole, and is FUNDAMENTALLY UNDEMOCRATIC.
I have said it before, and I will repeat it here: We as patriots should not arbitrarily LUMP PEOPLE into communal categories and DENY THEM their inalienable EQUAL RIGHTS as citizens of Sri Lanka. If we wish to criticize UNPATRIOTIC elements … as I often do … we should identify them by name specifically and narrowly (eg. “Eelamists” instead of “Tamils”) so as to not demonize innocent people who are not responsible for the actions of others within their communities. Better still, identify the LEADERS, or the separatist sub-group, or the political party, but not by the broad community.
However, if any individual or group violates the Laws of the Land, then they should be identified specifically and narrowly, and dealt with SEVERELY under the Law.
Demanding rights unavailable to ALL citizens of Sri Lanka, including agitating for separate state exclusively for themselves, and conniving with Foreign Powers to gain such benefits and or political goal also violates Sri Lanka’s sedition Laws and should be SEVERELY PUNISHED.
It is in that context, that I regularly call for punishment of the TNA and its leaders for their TREASON against Sri Lanka during the last 35 years.
I disagree completely with the reasons given by the un-named "government official" on why India's new Premier Narendra Modi would not align himself with the AIADMK, the TNA or Tamil Diaspora groups.
According to that official, the alliance in the past and the present between the TNA and the LTTE, would prevent Modi from such alliance because the LTTE was and is a terrorist group.Nothing could be further from the truth, because an alliance between the NDA and the AIADMK and Eelamists everywhere would be determined solely by the benefit of such an alliance to the NDA and to India's National Interests, not by any ETHICAL considerations and the best interest of Sri Lanka alone. You would think that India which created the LTTE, trained the LTTE, supported and funded the LTTE, and inserted LTTE to inflict terrorism on Srii Lanka would have some inkling that they are are terrorist group!
Instead, I present the following as the more likely reasons which may prevent the NDA from allying itself with the AIADMK and the Eelamists:
1. The trustworthiness of the AIADMK as an ally is suspect. The AIADMK not only OPPOSED the NDA in the recent 2014 Lok Sabha elections, but it also continues to be a political party opposed to the BJP that jealously guards its political power base within Tamil Nadu. Furthermore, it had undermined and brought down the previous BJP-led government of India in 1999. The AIADMK is highly likely to repeat that performance, abandon the NDA, and join the Congress Party-led UPA in the next elections if the pot is sweetened sufficiently for its Chief Minister Jayalolita, who harbours Prime Ministerial ambitions, to jump ship again.
2. Modi is an Indian Nationalist intensely concerned about India's national security. As such, the knowledge that any AIADMK-inspired action taken against Sri Lanka would alienate Sri Lanka from India and drive Sri Lanka more quickly into a deeper alliance with China, would be an important factor that would prevent an alliance with the AIADMK. It is abundantly clear to Modi that the AIADMK would bring pressure to bear from within the NDA alliance if it is brought into the governing coalition.
Narendra Modi wants to focus on India's internal economic development to honor his election pledges. At least in the next 5 years, he does not want to have ongoing disputes with neighboring nations that would divert him away from that goal. The friendly overtures that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has already made to Narendra Modi leaves him in no doubt of Sri Lanka's friendship, PROVIDED that friendship is not spurned by any adverse action India takes against Sri Lanka as in the days of the previous UPA government of India.
3. If the AIADMK is brought into the governing coalition, it would demand a handful of Cabinet positions displeasing the BJP's current allies who would be denied those positions, in an already LEAN Modi Cabinet. The AIADMK would continually blackmail and interfere with the NDA's conduct of its foreign policy. Mercifully, the landslide victory of the NDA releases it from any compelling need to have such a troublesome ally in its fold.
4. Finally, North Indians, including Narendra Modi, are well aware of the historical resentment of South Indians to what the Dravidian South perceives as domination by the Aryan people of North India, and no Dravidian community is more vocal about this than the Tamils. This is a huge divide that splits the Aryan and Dravidian peoples of India. It led to the formation of the secessionist Tamil National Army during Jawarharlal Nehru's reign that he contained only by enacting and enforcing an anti-Sedition Law. Tamil Nadu is also the only state in the Indian Federation that changed its name from Mysore to Tamil Nadu, and which to this day refuses to accept and use Hindi, the national language of India, as a state language.
.....Continued 1....
Therefore, the potential for secession of Tamil Nadu is a CONSTANT THREAT to the integrity of India. It is this rising threat to India that ultimately led Rajiv Gandhi to oppose, contain, and disarm the LTTE in Sri Lanka, any not any consideration for Sri Lanka's benefit. As an Indian Patriot, more than he is a Hindu zealot, Narendra Modi cannot ignore that any support given to the AIADMK and other Tamil Nationalists to further their goal of a Greater Tamil Nadu at the expense of Sri Lanka, would only serve to destabilize and disintegrate India itself.
Narendra Modi is by now well aware that Tamil Nationalists led by the LTTE have increased their power and influence greatly in Tamil Nadu since the LTTE was defeated in Sri Lanka in 2009 and lost their freedom to organize and act in Sri Lanka. They have been among the principal supporters of Jayalolita and the AIADMK who enabled a landslide victory for her in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. By keeping the NDA outside the governing NDA coalition, Narendra Modi preserves his freedom to act strongly against threats created by Tamil Nationalists to the integrity of India. It is only a matter of time when that threat will become a major issue in Tamil Nadu.
Narendra Modi should also be aware now that Jayalolita is among the leading Tamil Politicians, who have been recruited by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to serve as US proxies within India. He should be concerned about what quid-pro-quos have been agreed to among the parties privy to those discussions that were held completely independent of the Government of India in Delhi!
These, then, ARE the chief factors that MAY PREVENT an alliance between the NDA and AIADMK in the near future.
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Govt. confident Modi will not be influenced by TNA-Diaspora grouping
by Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
May 31, 2014
The new Indian government wouldn’t be deceived by a fresh joint anti-Sri Lanka campaign launched by the five-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the UK-based Global Tamil Front (GTF) meant to undermine bilateral relations between the two countries, a senior government official said yesterday.
The TNA, which included some former terrorist groups formed by the then Congress Party in the 80s was making a desperate bid to influence the newly elected Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) through the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) now in control in Tamil Nadu, the official said.
Recalling the circumstances under which the GTF came into being after the conclusion of the war in May 2009, he alleged that the grouping too, was promoting separatist sentiments. The GTF was among 16 other organizations, including the LTTE proscribed by Sri Lanka recently amidst alleged attempts to revive the militarily defeated group.
The official alleged that the TNA, GTF and the AIADMK were seeking the new government’s support for the US-led efforts to haul Sri Lanka up before an international war crimes tribunal. Their effort should be examined in the wake of the ousted Congress party refusing to throw its weight behind US resolution to initiate an external investigation into accountability issues in Sri Lanka, he said.
Responding to a query by The Sunday Island, another official pointed out that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jeyaram Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK could return to the NDA. A section of the Indian media had already speculated about the possibility of the AIADMK having a dialogue with the NDA pave the way for its return. The AIADMK quit the NDA way back in 1999 leading to fresh parliamentary elections.
....Continued 2 ....
CM Jayalalithaa is scheduled to meet Premier Modi on Tuesday (June 3) in New Delhi, though she boycotted the latter’s swearing in ceremony last Monday over President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s participation.
Political sources said both the TNA and the GTF would prefer a fresh alliance between the NDA and the AIADMK in accordance with their overall plan to undermine Sri Lanka. TNA leader R. Sampanthan last week wrote to CM Jayalalithaa seeking her intervention to ensure what he called an honorable peace based on justice and equality was brought about in Sri Lanka.
Trincomalee District MP Sampanthan sought an urgent meeting with Jayalalithaa. Sources said that it wasn’t clear whether the TNA could secure an appointment with Jayalalithaa before her scheduled meeting with Premier Modi.
Sources said that AIADMK ended-up as the third largest party in the new parliament by securing 37/39 in Tamil Nadu. The Congress won 44 seats in 543 member parliament, while the BJP obtained a staggering 282 seats. The BJP’s partners secured 52 seats, including two in Tamil Nadu.
Sources said that a new alliance between the NDA and the AIADMK would ensure all 39 Tamil Nadu representatives throwing their weight behind the NDA. They speculated about the possibility of such an alliance causing irrevocable damage to Indo-Lanka relations.
Asked whether Sri Lanka was concerned about post-India election developments, an External Affairs Ministry official said that whatever the public pronouncements attributed to various politicians and officials, India as well as Western powers were well aware of the TNA’s involvement with the LTTE. The much publicized declaration that the TNA recognized the LTTE as the sole representative of Tamil speaking people exposed the TNA-LTTE partnership, he said.
Subsequently, the EU accused the TNA of being the beneficiary of LTTE violence directed at political rivals at the December 2001 parliamentary election, he said, adding the TNA could never absolve itself of stopping Tamil speaking people from exercising their franchise at the November 2005 presidential election.
The TNA made the announcement in Kilinochchi on November 10, 2005 on behalf of the LTTE, the official said. India was aware of the TNA’s role in LTTE project and how it had prolonged the misery of the people of the Vanni during Eelam War IV, therefore the government remained confident New Delhi couldn’t be deceived, he said.
I don't believe anything Ranil Wickremasinghe says, or believe his true motivations are those he states.
He has just returned from an EXTENDED PLOTTING SESSION with his masters in the USA, where he was no doubt coached in some new devilry in his role as a US proxy.
Ranil's TRUE objectives may be:
1. to ELIMINATE the Executive Presidency, so he can sideline MR and climb into saddle himself,
2. to impose a TERM LIMIT on the Executive Presidency if it cannot be eliminated altogether to oust MR from that position,
3. to MODIFY the CONSTITUTION to change the system of governance from a UNITARY to a UNITED country to pave the way for Eelam, or
4. to impose a fully FEDERAL SYSTEM of government so that the Tamil Separatists can have their Eelam without reference to the 13A imposed by India, but in effect enabling the 13A in an even stronger form.
I don't trust any prescriptions that Ranil Wickremasinghe advances; they are absolutely CERTAIN to be POISON PILLS of some kind designed to weaken and divide the Motherland for the benefit of its many internal and external ENEMIES.
We CERTAINLY HOPE that the GOSL will CATEGORICALLY REJECT India's interference in Sri Lanka's Governance.
India assuming that it has ANY RIGHT to do so, after it had Initiated, Funded, Supported and Orchestrated Tamil Terrorism in Sri Lanka, is the absolute LIMIT of HYPOCRISY!
India should PERMANENTLY BUTT OUT of Sri Lanka's internal matters, lest Sri Lanka begin to RETURN the FAVOR, to STIR THE POT of India's own divisive internal politics!
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India Can't Dictate on Power Devolution: SL Ruling Party
NewIndianExpress.com
May 31, 2014
COLOMBO- In a riposte to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demand that Sri Lanka should fully implement the devolution package contained in the 13 constitutional amendment and even go beyond it, Lanka's ruling party said that India has no right to dictate to the island nation what kind of devolution system it must have.
"Neither India nor any other country has the right to tell Sri Lanka what kind of devolution system it must have. It is for Parliament of Sri Lanka to decide and the appropriate forum to debate the issue is the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC)," said Nimal Sripala de Silva, senior leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and cabinet minister, addressing the media on Thursday.
De Silva went on to say that just as Lanka does not advice India on what powers it should devolve to its states, India should not advice Lanka what powers it should give its provinces.
The Minister questioned the legitimacy of the 13 Amendment saying that it was "imposed" by India (in 1987 as part of the India-Sri Lanka Accord). The SLFP, then in opposition, had agitated against the Accord in July 1987.
Lankan political watchers are waiting to see what steps Indian Prime Minister Modi will take to push for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment. The majority Sinhalese community fears that Modi will be tough given his promise to to give India a strong government which its neighbours will have to respect. Anxiety about an intrusive Indian role is stoked by the efforts recently taken by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to secure the support of Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
TNA leader R Sampanthan wrote to Modi and Jayalalithaa seeking to discuss the Lankan Tamil question.
The Devolution of Land and Police Powers to Provincial Councils, or any other sub-national entity, is a RECIPE FOR NATIONAL SUICIDE heralding the END OF SRI LANKA as a Sovereign Unitary Nation.
If we have great difficulty now holding together the Nation constituted as a Unitary Nation, how can we expect to prevent its disintegration when SEPARATISTS are Empowered by Law to Carve out and Protect separatist MONO-ETHNIC fiefdoms with institutions and facts on the ground using the devolved Land and Police powers?
Why are we even seriously debating this issue of asking the WILY FOX to mind the HEN-HOUSE?
Every Patriot who loves the Motherland should FIGHT TOOTH and NAIL to prevent this UNMITIGATED DISASTER from ever being implemented in Sri Lanka!
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