TNA victory in SL "a verdict against Rajapaksa govt" - D Raja

Hailing the Tamil National Alliance's victory in provincial council polls in Sri Lanka as being "significant" one, CPI Leader D Raja today said "it is a verdict against the (Mahinda) Rajapaksa government". "It is a significant verdict given by Tamil people in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Primarily, it is a verdict against the Rajapaksa government", Raja told PTI. "Now the Rajapaksa government should own accountability for all it did to Tamil people," Raja added. "If the Rajapaksa government has any respect for the verdict of the people, it should immediately stop militarisation of the Tamil areas and the forced disappearance of Tamil youth," he said. The island government should come forward for a political solution. It is for the Tamil people of Sri Lanka to decide what kind of political solution they want, he said.

"What power TNA would have, we will have to wait and see," he said responding to a query on whether the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution would now be implemented.

"The 13th Amendment talks about more powers to Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Whether the new provincial government will have those powers or will be given those powers, we will have to wait and see", he said.

"Being Sri Lanka's immediate neighbour, the government of India knows what happened in there - the war crimes, human rights violation.

"Now, government of India should take it (the victory by TNA) as a message for its policy. It should rework its strategy to try for a political solution for the Tamil people of Sri Lanka", he said.

TNA trounced Rajapaksa's ruling UPFA coalition, grabbing 30 of the 38 seats in the much-awaited polls which were held after a gap of 25 years in the former Tamil Tigers-ruled northern province.

Commenting about the frequent arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Raja endorsed Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's stand on the matter.

Jayalalithaa has been seeking Centre's intervention for an amicable solution to the issue.

"I have been speaking in Parliament that the Katchatheevu agreement cannot be treated as a closed one. It needs to be reopened. If Sri Lanka does not agree, then the government of India has every right to retrieve the said island," Raja averred.