SL govt. proceeding towards united country under one Constitution: BJP leader
September 18, 2011 04:50 pm
A Tamil National Alliance delegation which met senior BJP leader and Member of Parliament, Murli Manohar Joshi in Colombo today (Sep. 18) told him that “some concrete steps must be visible” soon in arriving at a political solution to the ethnic question.
Dr.Joshi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and India’s Public Account Committee’s chairman, was in Sri Lanka to deliver the Anagarika Dharmapala commemorative lecture at the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka, on the occasion of the 147th birth anniversary of the founder of the Society, Anagarika Dharmapala.
After having met policy makers and politicians of Sri Lanka, Dr.Joshi said that he was left with the impression that everyone wanted an early resolution leading towards a united Sri Lanka under one Constitution. “[The Sri Lankan] Government is proceeding in that direction,” he said.
In a rare instance of the BJP agreeing with the UPA-II government on an issue, Dr.Joshi articulated more or less the same line of the Indian government after listening first-hand to leaders in Sri Lanka, including Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratne, Foreign Minister G.L.Peiris, and TNA leader R.Sampanthan.
“The principle of democracy of accepting every citizen as equal has to be kept in mind, and, all sections of society, including those in the northern parts should be made to feel [they are] Sri Lankans [and are] equals. And all the assurances and the commitments should be implemented speedily… We in India desire and hope that Sri Lanka would remain united, free from violence, working under a Constitution and becoming a strong seat for preserving peace in this region,” he told the Indian press stationed in the island nation in an interaction on Sunday.
Asked why the BJP had, of late, begun talking about Tamil issue, he said it was the duty of the BJP to raise issues of national interest and national well being. “We are a responsible and constructive opposition,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
In his Anagarika Dharmapala commemorative lecture too, his message to Sri Lanka was that the country should follow the teachings of Buddha and take the middle path. And that the government should work to create a society that is inclusive democratic peaceful, progressive and working towards the unity of the country.
Dr.Joshi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and India’s Public Account Committee’s chairman, was in Sri Lanka to deliver the Anagarika Dharmapala commemorative lecture at the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka, on the occasion of the 147th birth anniversary of the founder of the Society, Anagarika Dharmapala.
After having met policy makers and politicians of Sri Lanka, Dr.Joshi said that he was left with the impression that everyone wanted an early resolution leading towards a united Sri Lanka under one Constitution. “[The Sri Lankan] Government is proceeding in that direction,” he said.
In a rare instance of the BJP agreeing with the UPA-II government on an issue, Dr.Joshi articulated more or less the same line of the Indian government after listening first-hand to leaders in Sri Lanka, including Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratne, Foreign Minister G.L.Peiris, and TNA leader R.Sampanthan.
“The principle of democracy of accepting every citizen as equal has to be kept in mind, and, all sections of society, including those in the northern parts should be made to feel [they are] Sri Lankans [and are] equals. And all the assurances and the commitments should be implemented speedily… We in India desire and hope that Sri Lanka would remain united, free from violence, working under a Constitution and becoming a strong seat for preserving peace in this region,” he told the Indian press stationed in the island nation in an interaction on Sunday.
Asked why the BJP had, of late, begun talking about Tamil issue, he said it was the duty of the BJP to raise issues of national interest and national well being. “We are a responsible and constructive opposition,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
In his Anagarika Dharmapala commemorative lecture too, his message to Sri Lanka was that the country should follow the teachings of Buddha and take the middle path. And that the government should work to create a society that is inclusive democratic peaceful, progressive and working towards the unity of the country.
