All-party meet on Sri Lanka inconclusive

Some UPA allies and BJP are opposed to the idea of a specific resolution against the country

The all-party meeting called today to discuss a resolution on the alleged human rights violations against Tamils in Sri Lanka remained inconclusive, as several parties - including allies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the main Opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - were opposed to the idea of a specific resolution against a country.

"Nothing came out of the meeting as it was unable to end the impasse in Parliament," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath told reporters soon after the meeting ended.

The Samajwadi Party, the BJP and the Janata Dal (United) have all opposed any country-specific resolution in Parliament. The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has also decided to support the government on the issue. Leaders of the BJP were of the view that Parliament was unable to function because of the differences between the government and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the UPA should not blame the opposition for the impasse.

"We are with Lankan Tamils but there is no need for a resolution by Parliament as Sri Lanka is the only country which stood by us during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. We have recently rejected a Pakistan Parliament resolution on Afzal Guru. How can we do the same to a friendly neighbour? At the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), India should do what is in the national interest and in the interest of Tamils of Sri Lanka," said Rewati Raman Singh, senior leader of the Samajwadi Party.

"We had not created any roadblock, it is for the government and the DMK to sort out the matter," said Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, after the all party meeting.

The UPA got a pleasant surprise from former ally the Trinamool Congress as it rallied behind the government and extended support to take a call on the decision at the UNHRC. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the government should take a decision in the interest of the country.

"Our party supports the cause of our Tamil brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka. We are deeply concerned about the atrocities meted out to a section of the Tamil population in a foreign country. We are always with our Tamil brothers and sisters. We appreciate their concerns. This is the local sentiment. We appreciate their sentiment also. At the same time, on the issue of external affairs or foreign policy, our party never interferes with whatever the government thinks fit for the interests of the country. We leave it to the central government to decide on the issue," Banerjee wrote in a Facebook post.

Earlier in the morning today, five DMK ministers in the union cabinet submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after submitting the letter of withdrawl of support to President Pranab Mukherjee yesterday night.