Tamil parties want intervention in Lanka; Govt does not oblige

The Sri Lanka issue rocked Lok Sabha with two Tamil parties, including a UPA constituent, seeking India's intervention to stop military offensive in the island nation, a demand that was virtually rejected by the Govt.

The Sri Lanka issue on Wednesday rocked Lok Sabha with two Tamil parties, including a UPA constituent, seeking India's intervention to stop military offensive in the island nation, a demand that was virtually rejected by the government.

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External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee made it clear that India cannot force a sovereign government of another country to take a particular line even as he denounced LTTE, saying it had caused "much damage" to the Tamil community.

Asking LTTE to lay down arms, he said there is a political opportunity after 23 years to restore normalcy in northern Sri Lanka and that India is ready to assist in help in reconstruction and development there.

As Mukherjee made a suo motu statement on the situation in Sri Lanka, PMK and MDMK members expressed unhappiness over certain contents of its and demanded its withdrawal.

The PMK and MDMK members, wearing black shirts, forced two adjournments by vociferously raising their demands and rushing to the Well of House. They finally walked out of the House to register their dissatisfaction even though Mukherjee expressed readiness to make "corrections" in his statement if there were any "discrepancies".