R Sampanthan, the current leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), announced that Indian President Narendra Modi is “standing behind us (TNA)” in a recent interview to Tamil media earlier this month.
Speaking to Tamil media, Sampanthan further stated that the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, has voiced his support for the TNA and believes that the Tamil national question needs to be resolved.
As Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections draw closer, members of the TNA have been playing up the India rhetoric in Sri Lanka, The Hindu reported.
S Sritharan, another TNA member, has also recently announced that India is advising and strengthening the TNA’s electoral campaign. Sritharan stated in a recent conference that India is still telling the TNA not to back down and to hold on ever more firmly to the Tamil national question. He further stated that India has advised that they will only be able to apply pressure on Sri Lanka if the TNA continue to stand as a strong force for the Tamils and win at least 20 seats.
Spokesperson for the TNA, M.A. Sumanthiran, has also maintained that India’s role is crucial in solving the Tamil question. He has, on multiple occasions, expressed that it was due to India’s aid in the 2010 elections that the TNA were able to have rounds of discussions with the Rajapaksa administration.
Despite these members of the TNA declaring that India and the international community stand behind them in hopes of achieving a solution to the island's ongoing ethnic conflict, many critics feel that this is merely a campaign strategy. India's close relationship with the TNA has been highlighted repeatedly by its members, though there has been little progress towards any political solution.
Read more from The Hindu here.
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