Indian Minister against selling warship to SL

12 September 2013 07:05 am

Voicing opposition to Centre's proposal to supply two naval warships to Sri Lanka, Shipping Minister of India G.K. Vasan has said he would urge Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to sell the vessels.

"I am against the selling of warships to Sri Lanka. I will meet the Prime Minister soon and represent him not to sell the warships," he told reporters on the sidelines of a private function here last night.

Vasan said he would also urge Singh to insist that Colombo implement the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution without dilution to protect the legitimate rights of Tamils.

He had already requested the Union Government to boycott the Commonwealth Summit to be held in Sri Lanka in November and hoped that a decision would be announced soon, Vasan said.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had yesterday expressed shock over New Delhi's proposal to supply warships to Lanka, saying any move to supply military hardware would be the "most telling statement on the insensitivity" of the Government to the strong sentiments in Tamil Nadu on the Tamils issue.
Two Offshore Patrol Vessels, to be built by the Goa-based defence PSU Goa Shipyard Limited, are expected to be delivered to the Island nation by 2017-18. (PTI)