CPI demands ouster of Sri Lankan envoy

New Delhi, Mar 15 (ANI): Outraged by the accusations made by Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India, Prasad Kariyawasam, on pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) groups lobbying with Tamil Nadu lawmakers, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on Thursday demanded his ouster from the country.

Stating that Kariyawasam's remarks were unacceptable, Raja said the Indian Government should put pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to recall the envoy.

"The matter is so serious. The envoy's apology is not acceptable, in fact the government of India should take it with all seriousness and demand that Sri Lankan government has to call back its high commissioner from Delhi," he said.

Raja further said the High Commissioner's remarks were a direct interference in Indian parliamentary procedure and also challenged the legislative structure.

"It's a gross violation of all the diplomatic norms, which are being pursued everywhere. It is gross interference in the internal affairs, particularly in the work of Indian Parliament. This is a very serious matter," said Raja.

"In fact, in the morning I met the External Affairs Minister Mr. Krishna (S.M. Krishna) and brought this issue to his notice and I asked him that the government should take a serious view on this matter," he added.

India had earlier in the daY summoned the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to seek clarification on his remarks about alleged connection between some Tamil Parliamentarians and LTTE, after which the envoy apologised for causing "discontent" and "distress" to the MPs.

Meanwhile, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Kanimozhi said her party is hopeful that the UPA Government would support the views of Tamils.

"We have requested the government, we have raised this issue in Parliament that the Indian Government should support this resolution, which is coming up in the UN and I hope it will. We are very hopeful that the government will understand what the people of Tamil Nadu want and it's a human rights issue. So, we are very hopeful," said Kanimozhi.

The United States and European Union had initiated a draft resolution on 'Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka' at the ongoing 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to put the probe's recommendations into effect.

Sri Lanka has rejected accusations of human rights abuses, saying it was impossible to avoid all civilian casualties during the final offensive to wipe out the Tigers.

Sri Lanka is now in its third year of peace after defeating the Tamil Tigers in a cataclysmic final battle in May 2009, when the separatists held nearly 300,000 civilians as human shields in a tiny strip of land as the military closed in. (ANI)