Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary, Tilvin Silva, has refuted claims by certain opposition politicians claiming that the government has betrayed the country by entering into several agreements with India.
Tilvin Silva challenged the opposition to prove if any of the agreements have been signed in a manner that could be detrimental to Sri Lanka.
Stating that the agreements signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit have been openly announced to the public, he said they are beneficial to both nations.
“Both Sri Lanka and India benefit from these agreements. The NPP Government has proven to be the government to have received the most international support in Sri Lanka’s history. Earlier, they claimed there was no international support or help, but now that we are receiving international help, they are claiming we are betraying the nation,” he said.
Tilvin Silva pointed out that the former Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government, together with the Rajapaksa clan, attempted to sell the local milk producer, MILCO, to an Indian company, but the move was stopped due to the NPP Government having approached India on the matter.
Acknowledging that the NPP/JVP had lobbied against several projects in the past, Tilvin Silva said they protested the Indo-Lanka Agreement in 1987, which saw the Indian Army entering Sri Lanka, as it was deemed a betrayal of the nation.
“Yes, we did protest against India in the past. However, India has changed now, and so has the world. Just because we protested in 1987, should we still hold on to that anger? No. An issue arose then, for which we protested, and it was later over. At times, they accuse us, claiming that we are not on par with global developments. But as we start working in such a manner, they are accusing us of betraying the nation,” he added.
The JVP General Secretary made the remarks while addressing a public rally in view of the upcoming local government elections. (Newswire)