The all party meeting called to discuss a resolution on the alleged human rights violations against Tamils in Sri Lanka remained inconclusive as several parties, including allies of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the main opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were opposed to the idea of a specific resolution against a country.
The Congress-led UPA was got a pleasant surprise from a former ally Trinamool Congress as it rallied behind the government and extended support to take a call on the decision at the UNHCR. 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 the Tamil brothers and sisters. We are deeply concerned about the atrocities meted out to a section of Tamil population in a foreign country. We are always with our Tamil brothers. We appreciate their concerns. This is the local sentiment. We appreciate their sentiment also. At the same time, on issue of external affairs or foreign policy our party never interferes whatever government thinks fit for the interest of the country. We leave it to the central government to decide on the issue,” Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, wrote in a Facebook post.
Soon after the all party meeting ended, parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath told reporters that “nothing came out of the meeting as the meeting was unable end the impasse in Parliament.”
While DMK has threatened to pull out of the union government, five ministers of the DMK gave their resignations to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to demand a resolution against Sri Lanka on the alleged atrocities against Tamil speaking people. The regional party from Tamil Nadu seemed to alone in demanding a resolution as Samajwadi Party, BJP and Janata Dal (United) have all opposed any country specific resolution in Parliament. Mayawati led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has also decided to support the government on the issue.
“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 china 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 UNHCR, 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 Samajwadi Party.
Meanwhile, opposed to the resolution against Sri Lanka, senior leaders of the BJP are of the view that the Parliament was unable to function because of the differences between the government and DMK and the UPA should not blame the opposition for the impasse in Parliament.
“We had not created any roadblock, it is for the government and DMK to sort out the matter,” said Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, after the all party meeting.
