CHENNAI: Strongly condemning the remarks of Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse on the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s resolution seeking imposition of economic sanctions against his country, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday charged that the Centre’s failure to act on the TN resolution had emboldened him to make such remarks.Replying to a discussion on the special mention on the issue, the CM denounced Rajapakse’s remark that the resolution was passed intending to gain political mileage, and said: “The resolution was beyond political considerations. It was based on the report of the three-member committee of the United Nations. The Central government should condemn Gotabaya Rajapakse’s remarks through an Indian envoy since his remarks attributed ulterior motives to the resolution.”“...the government headed by me will not rest and will take necessary diplomatic steps to win the rights of Lankan Tamils,” she added.Stating that Rajapakse did not utter a word when former CM M Karunanidhi staged ‘dramas’ for the sake of Lankan Tamils, Jayalalithaa said, “Now, the Lankan Defence Secretary is criticising the resolution of TN Assembly. This shows the extent of impact of this resolution.”Jayalalithaa took exception to Rajapakse’s statement that all communities in Sri Lanka were treated equally. “This is totally contrary to the truth and an attempt to cover up facts,” she said, pointing out that even two years since the war ended, Tamils are yet to be rehabilitated.On Rajapakse’s ‘advice’ that if she was so concerned about the welfare of Lankan Tamils, she must stop Indian fishermen from coming to Lankan waters and fishing in areas dominated by Lankan Tamil fishermen, the CM observed that as per the Indo-Lanka accord on Katchatheevu, Indian fishermen could use the areas around the island for fishing and drying their nets. “Sri Lanka has been acting contradictory to the accord and now advising TN government. It is like Satan quoting from scriptures,” she said.
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