BJP opposes military aid to Sri Lanka

Chennai: The BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit today alleged that the Indian government was providing military aid to Sri Lanka and urged the Centre to stop it immediately as it would be “used only against Tamils in the island.”

“Sri Lanka has no enemies in its neighbourhood. Hence, the weapons given to it will be used only against Tamils in the island and fishermen belonging to Tamil Nadu,” State BJP president L Ganesan told reporters here.

Welcoming the negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, he said “both parties had in the past used the time to make preparations for war.The Sri Lankan government had never honoured any of the previous agreements with the Tamils.”

India had a responsibility in the Lankan issue, as thousands of refugees were coming from the island to Tamil Nadu.The BJP would send a team to the refugee camps to study the refugees’ condition and submit a report to the party’s state leadership, he said.

The BJP leader alleged that police had refused permission for the party to stage demonstrations against `rigging and violence’ during the Chennai Corporation elections.

“I do not think police are acting independently. Suppression of expression in a democracy is not good. It will cause a blot on the state government,” he said