Wigneswaran Invites Indian PM To Jaffna; Manmohan Likely At CHOGM

October 31, 2013 

As controversy over the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh‘s attendance at the CHOGM in Colombo continues Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran invited the Indian head of government to visit Jaffna after the TNA’s victory in the provincial polls.

In a letter to Dr. Singh dated Monday (28) Chief Minister Wigneswaran thanked the Prime Minister and India for “persuading the Sri Lankan government” to hold the Northern Province elections under the 13th Amendment, The Hindu newspaper reported.

Manmohan Singh

The Chief Minister told the Indian Prime Minister that he had won the elections in the province by a “sizeable majority.”

“Basically, Mr. Wigneswaran would like Dr. Singh to engage both in Colombo and Jaffna. This also shows that Sri Lanka’s Tamil community wants India to remain engaged on issues important to them such as national reconciliation, political devolution of power and resettlement of the displaced,” The Hindu said quoting official sources.

Meanwhile another Indian newspaper reported this morning (31) that following a meeting of the Congress Party high officials last night a decision had been reached that the Indian PM would travel to Sri Lanka for the summit.

“In taking a bold decision to go to Colombo despite political sentiments in Tamil Nadu, the PM has prioritized the need to ensure India does not lose vital clout with the Sri Lankan government allow other powers like China to gain stronger leverage,” the Times of India newspaper reported from New Delhi.

The newspaper said that while not travelling to Sri Lanka will be read as a severe snub to the island nation and can harm India’s goodwill severely, the government is also leaning on the reported support of Chief minister C V Wigneswaran for the PM attending the CHOGM.