Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa has termed as “unfortunate” the invitation by Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to attend his swearing-in ceremony, and said it was “tantamount to rubbing salt into the wounds of the already deeply injured Tamil psyche”.
A staunch critic of the Rajapakse government over its excesses in the final phases of the Eelam war and denial of rights to Tamils in the island nation, Ms Jayalalithaa said she wished to bring to the notice of the new government the “deep anguish” caused by the invitation.
“Particularly with regard to the relationship of the new Central Government with the Government of Tamil Nadu, it would have been better if this ill-advised move had been avoided,” she said, hinting Mr Rajapakse’s visit could strain her ties with the incoming Modi government.Noting with dismay that Mr Rajapakse had accepted Mr Modi’s invitation, the AIADMK supremo said in a statement the sentiments of Tamils, living in India and abroad, were well known on the Sri Lankan issue. A change of government in New Delhi “in no way alters the existing strained relations between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka”
