Sri Lanka like many other countries is not taking India seriously on diplomatic issues, due to the central government’s weak   foreign policy, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has said.

Attacking the UPA government’s foreign policy, Sinha said there would be a complete change in the ‘personality’ of the Indian government if BJP candidate Narendra Modi becomes the Prime Minister.

“It will not be just a regime change at the Centre, but it will be a total change in the personality of the government,” Sinha said at a discussion on human rights organised by the MDMK here.

Referring to Sri Lankan Tamils issue and the arrests of Indian fishermen, he said the island nation like other countries “had not been taking India seriously”. Foreign policy was not conducted from a position of weakness. The Vajpayee-led NDA regime handled the post-Pokhran II nuclear tests “courageously without kneeling down” before any country, Sinha said, adding a similar approach would be adopted if Modi came to power.

Even during the recent meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Myanmar, Sri Lanka did not give any concrete commitment on either on troop reduction in the north and east or the fishermen issue, he said.

“We need to just whisper in the ears of Rajapaksa that he needs to listen else face the consequences,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

He dismissed the view that China will occupy India’s strategic place in Sri Lanka if New Delhi took a strong stance against the island nation.

“If America can have Monro Doctrine in southern hemisphere, we can have one in South Asia,” he said, adding India cannot live in “perpetual fear” of China taking its place in Lanka.

“Like (Lord) Hanuman, we must realise our strength and we can also cross over the Palk Strait not with guns but with roses,” he said.