Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday refrained from committing his participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM) in Colombo, as political parties from Tamil Nadu (TN) in Parliament demanded his boycott.
The prime minister has received a formal invitation from Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to attend the CHOGM 2013, to be held in the capital Colombo between November 15-17.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G L Peiris called on Singh in New Delhi on Monday to invite him on behalf of the Sri Lankan government.
Singh did not make any commitment about the level of New Delhi’s participation in the next biennial summit of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. Official sources, however, said that he thanked Peiris and the Sri Lankan government for the gesture.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its rival the All India Anna DMK (AIADMK) raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, urging the government to boycott the meet in protest against the alleged human rights violations by the Sri Lankan Army during the final crackdown on the LTTE in 2009.
AIADMK MP V Maithreyan told the Rajya Sabha that any high-level participation from India would be tantamount to endorsing the alleged violation of human rights of the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka.
- Deccan Herald
