The fire of anger is burning in Sri Lanka. But India does not want to burn its hands without understanding which way the wind will blow. This is what the Indian Ministry of External Affairs is saying about their role in the current situation in Sri Lanka.
Indian High Commission’s comment
Colombo is going through an unprecedented political and economic inconsistency and situation change. In this situation, India’s first priority is to send a message that does not seem to be trying to save the Rajapaksa family, the current government, which is at the centre of the anger. Indian High Commission in Colombo on Wednesday morning in a spontaneous tweet, said, “Various news media are spreading that India helped Gotabaya Rajapaksa to leave the country. We categorically deny all these baseless, speculative reports. India continues to support the people of Sri Lanka.
Significantly, the Ministry of External Affairs had previously issued a statement calling for the government to stand by the people and not the government. The indication is clear, humanitarian and economic assistance will be given to Sri Lanka without getting involved in politics. And there is no question of military intervention.
According to the diplomatic camp, the political future of Colombo is highly uncertain due to the changing geopolitical situation. So now South Block wants to step with extreme caution. Elections in Sri Lanka are conducted by the Election Commission of that country. The situation is now out of the Commission’s hands. So South Block wants to wait patiently for now.
According to a source in the Ministry of External Affairs, “India’s interests are closely linked to Colombo’s security, political stability and economic growth. Not only is India closer to Sri Lanka than any major power in Asia, it also has the closest geographical and cultural ties to New Delhi. So the way in which New Delhi still stands by the side of the Lankans with food, fuel and medicine has created a somewhat positive attitude of the people there towards India. We don’t want to spoil that.”
It is a fact that there are still many groups, leaders and organizations in Sri Lanka who are united in anti-India. In the recent past they have repeatedly promoted issues that are uncomfortable for India. As they have claimed, Prime Minister Modi is building various projects in Sri Lanka with the Adani Industrial Group for his own convenience, or the Indian Army has been sent to save the Rajapaksa family, India is intervening indirectly into the politics of Lanka!
Displeasure against China
The diplomatic camp says there is one more thing to be aware of in these propaganda campaigns. That is, for the first time in that country, public anger has started to build against China. In the case of Sri Lanka, China’s economic and strategic expansionism has been a major thorn in the recent past.