Tamil Nadu BJP has told the DMK government to not politicize standard protocols and hand over the aid package on behalf of the people of the state to MEA to ensure its smooth passage to Sri Lanka without insisting on delivering it directly.
The saffron party welcomed the resolution passed in the Tamil Nadu assembly and also the fact that the help being given by the people of Tamil Nadu is being provided to the whole of Sri Lanka.
In a letter to Chief Minister MK Stalin, it further said that some of the recent actions of the Tamil Nadu government, especially during “Operation Ganga”, were only aimed at scoring political mileage during an ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
‘This resolution shouldn’t turn out to be PR exercise’
We are only afraid that this resolution shouldn’t turn out to be one such exercise, the BJP said.
It was rather unfortunate that the resolution passed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly did not have the information about what the Indian government has already provided to Sri Lanka, it added.
‘India ready to walk extra mile to help Sri Lanka out of the current crisis’
“Earlier in Jan this year, India had provided financial assistance to Sri Lanka that included a currency swap of USD 400 million and deferment of Asian Clearing Union payments of USD 515 million, and again of USD 498.9 million,” the letter read.
The Narendra Modi-led BJP government has followed the ‘Neighbourhood First policy’ and is ready to walk that extra mile to help Sri Lanka out of the current crisis, well before the resolution in the Tamil Nadu assembly was moved, the state BJP unit said.
In cumulative terms, Indian support to the people of Sri Lanka in the first quarter of 2022 is in the range of USD 3 billion, even as China keeps Sri Lanka guessing over loans and credit lines, it said.
‘UPA, DMK watched a grave humanitarian crisis unfold in Sri Lanka in 2009’
The TN BJP also took a dig at the DMK over the Sri Lankan Civil War.
“In 2009, when the civil war in Sri Lanka was at its peak, the UPA government in the Centre and the DMK government in the state watched a grave humanitarian crisis unfold. Despite being in power and a position of command, they put no effort into rescuing the Tamil people from the war zone,” the letter read.
The BJP has expressed concern that this resolution passed in the state Assembly should not become another situation orchestrated to create a mirage that the DMK worked hard for the ceasefire during the war.
