Rajapaksas sweep Lanka House polls, Mahinda to be back as PM
Modi congratulates Lanka counterpart on successful conduct of polls amid Covid crisis
Colombo, Aug. 6: When Mahinda Rajapaksa was vanquished in Sri Lanka’s presidential elections in 2015, many thought the shrewd leader, known for his brutal military campaign against the Tamil Tigers, was a spent force.
But five years later, the 74-year-old leader is back at the top in Sri Lankan politics along with his three siblings, winning the general elections held on Wednesday.
However, it has not been a smooth sailing for Mr Rajapaksa, a veteran street-fighter politician who entered Parliament when he was just 24. After losing the seat in 1977, he focused on his law career until reentering Parliament in 1989.
Mr Rajapaksa served as labour minister (1994 2001) and minister of fisheries and aquatic resources (1997 2001) under President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who appointed him as PM after the general election of April 2004, when the United People’s Freedom Alliance won a majority.
He was chosen as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s presidential nominee in November 2005. Shortly after his victory in the election, Mr Rajapaksa announced his intention to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which had established a de facto government in north Sri Lanka.
SRIDHAR KUMARASWAMI NEW DELHI, AUG. 6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa on his party’s performance in the parliamentary elections, with early trends showing that Rajapaksa family-run Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) was headed for a landslide win.
He also commended the government and the electoral institutions of Sri Lanka for effectively organising the elections despite the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic, a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office said.
He appreciated Lankan people for their enthusiastic participation in the elections, and said this reflected the strong democratic values shared by both countries. on the “successful conduct of parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka yesterday”.
In a tweet, Mr Modi said: “It was a pleasure to speak to you. Once again, many congratulations. We will work together to further advance all areas of bilateral cooperation and to take our special ties to ever newer heights.”
Mr Rajapaksa also thanked Mr Modi on Twitter for the congratulatory phone call.
In an emphasis on the Buddhist circuit connectivity amid increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region, PM Modi also informed the Lankan PM about “the establishment of an international airport in the Buddhist pilgrim city of Kushinagar” in India’s Uttar Pradesh, adding that “the city looked forward to welcoming visitors from Sri Lanka at an early date”.
New Delhi also said, “Recalling their cordial and fruitful previous interactions, the two leaders reiterated their shared commitment to strengthen the age-old and multidimensional India-Sri Lanka relationship.”