Launching a scathing attack on Sri Lanka over the issue of resettlement of Tamils, senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had failed to deliver on the promise of devolution of powers, reconciliation and resettlement of minority Tamils.
Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after victory in the war, Rajapaksa had promised reconciliation and equitable share of power for the Tamils. “We wonder where these steps are. So far nothing has happened,” he said. The issue concerning the right for Tamils was not over with the elimination of the LTTE. “If the government does not act fast to resettle the war displaced and find a political solution to the conflict, a new challenge will emerge. One can win war, but may lose peace,” he added.
France and Britain moved a draft resolution in the UN Human Rights Council seeking investigation of war crimes in Sri Lanka and many, including British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Navanethem Pillay of the UN had raised serious concerns. “What the Indian government did in this regard?” he sought to know. Asked if his party approved of the stance taken by the Centre to support Lanka in the UNHRC against the West-sponsored resolution, he said a firm “No”.
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