Outcome of Mukherjee's visit to Lanka disappointing: CPI

CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said External Affairs Minister Pranab should have "persuaded and pressurised" the government of the island nation to end its army offensive against the LTTE.

Expressing disappointment over the outcome of the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's recent visit to Sri Lanka, the CPI on Thursday said he should have "persuaded and pressurised" the government of the island nation to end its army offensive against the LTTE.

HT Image

CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan told reporters in Chennai that his party was "very much disappointed with Mukherjee's discussions with Sri Lanka."

"A plea to expand the safety zone (for Tamils) is no guarantee for safety of life. Especially when the shelling and bombardment don't stop in this zone. Mukherjee should have made a serious effort, persuading and pressurising the Sri Lankan government, to end war," Bardhan said.

"The CPI is very much disappointed with Mukherjee's discussions with Sri Lanka," he said.

Saying Sri Lanka cannot "ignore" the voice of India, Bardhan also criticised the Centre for not respecting Tamil Nadu's sentiments in this issue.

If there was a "serious effort" from Colombo to end war, the LTTE "has to respond" and cannot "deliberately endanger lives of people by insisting on fighting," he said.

Responding to the suicide of a 26-year-old man, allegedly to express solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamils, Bardhan urged people to "refrain" from such ways of expressing their feelings, saying they won't solve the problem.