New Delhi: Under attack by political rivals in Tamil Nadu, the Congress-led UPA government on Friday justified its decision to abstain on the US sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC, by saying that its action was aimed at securing the well-being of the Sri Lankan Tamils as also of the fishermen community of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. But senior Congress leader P Chidambaram in Chennai maintained that India should have voted in favour of the resolution along with the other 23 countries that supported it. The Congress brushed aside his comment saying he was entitled to his opinion.
Addressing a press conference here, foreign secretary Sujatha Singh said, “We believe that our abstention yesterday is in the best interest of the Tamils in Sri Lanka and will assist us in our efforts to help them.”
She said India’s position is in tune with the consistent long held view that the national re-conciliation process in Sri Lanka should be expedited in a way that meets the aspirations of the Island nation’s Tamils for a “life of equality, justice, peace and dignity within a united Sri Lanka.”
