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Protests in India as Rajapaksa prays for peace
Friday February 08, 2013 09:22:49 PM,
IANS
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Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived here Friday
after praying at Buddhism's holiest shrine at Bodh Gaya amid
protests against his two-day Indian pilgrimage.
The president's brief trip - he flies back Saturday after spending
a night in Tirupati - triggered protests in Tamil Nadu as well as
in Tirupati, New Delhi and Hosur in Karnataka over allegations
that he was denying Tamils in his country equal rights.
Rajapaksa and his delegation spent about an hour at the
1,500-year-old Mahabodhi temple, about 100 km from the Bihar
capital Patna, under tight security, a police officer told IANS.
Security personnel did not let journalists talk to the president,
who is avoiding New Delhi despite Sri Lankan concerns over how
India will vote on a US-sponsored resolution against Colombo at
the UNHRC meet in Geneva.
According to a police official, over a dozen workers of the
Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist protested near the
temple minutes before his visit. They were detained.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar earlier received the president
at the Gaya international airport where Rajapaksa flew in from
Colombo along with his wife and senior aides.
From Bodh Gaya, Rajapaksa flew to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh to
pray at the revered Balaji temple. Several Tamil activists from
Tamil Nadu entered Tirupati in a bid to stall Rajapaksa's visit.
Police arrested over 100 protesters. Police sources said hundreds
of protesters may have sneaked into Tirupati, about 50 km from the
Tamil Nadu border and 135 km from Chennai.
Prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more people were
imposed in the Andhra Pradesh town. A large number of security
personnel have been deployed along the route from the airport to
Tirumala.
The president will take part in the 'Suprabhatha Seva' at 3 a.m.
Saturday at the Balaji temple. He will fly out to Colombo later in
the morning.
In New Delhi, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, a strong supporter of
the now vanquished Tamil Tigers, led a noisy protest.
Holding placards demanding "Strict Action Against Rajapaksa" and
shouting slogans against him, Vaiko and his supporters gathered on
Parliament Street in the heart of Delhi.
They denounced Rajapaksa for ruling out autonomy for Tamil areas.
About 130 people were detained and let off after three hours.
In Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa blamed Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh for the watered down US resolution pulling
up Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council meet last year.
The chief minister urged the Indian government to table a
resolution on violation of human rights in Sri Lanka at the UN.
Also in Chennai, DMK president M. Karunanidhi accused Rajapaksa of
not only trying to obliterate Tamils in the island but also their
culture, tradition and the Tamil language itself.
Leading a massive protest held by Tamil Eelam Supporters
Organisation (TESO), he said Colombo was changing even the names
of villages with Tamil names to Sinhalese.
Thousands of cadres belonging to DMK, VCK and other Tamil outfits
took part in the protest wearing black shirts.
Tamil groups also protested outside the Sri Lankan consulate in
Chennai. On Thursday, a group of people stoned the Bank of Ceylon
office in the city injuring two employees.
Around 30 members of VCK party were taken into custody near the
Tamil Nadu-Andhra border for holding protests.
Tamil activists were taken into custody in Hosur in Karnataka for
protesting on railway tracks.
Lawyers in some districts like Villupuram, Dindugul and Sivaganga
in Tamil Nadu boycotted the courts opposing Rajapaksa's visit and
burnt his effigies.
The Sri Lankan president has been quoted as saying that he is
opposed to granting autonomy to provinces, remarks that are widely
seen as going back on promises made earlier to Indian leaders.
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