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Parliament rocks over 'derogatory' article against Jayalalithaa, India condemns, Sri Lanka apologises

By FnF Desk | PUBLISHED: 04, Aug 2014, 15:34 pm IST | UPDATED: 04, Aug 2014, 15:54 pm IST

Parliament rocks over 'derogatory' article against Jayalalithaa, India condemns, Sri Lanka apologises

New Delhi: India on Monday strongly condemned the "derogatory" article against Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa appearing in the Sri Lankan defence ministry website, as the controversy rocked Parliament with an agitated AIADMK demanding a resolution to denounce it.

"The issue raised by (AIADMK leader) V Maitreyan is indeed very serious. India strongly condemns it. We will definitely summon the high commissioner of that country and tell him about it," external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said in Rajya Sabha after AIADMK members trooped into the well demanding a statement from the government.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed two adjournments each as AIADMK members disrupted the proceedings and stormed the well seeking a statement from the government and raising slogans denouncing the Sri Lankan president.

In the Lower House, parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, "While matters concerning diplomatic relations are dealt with delicately, this is totally unacceptable and condemnable. There is no hesitation in condemning it."

He also said he would convey the "strong feelings" of the members to Swaraj. But the AIADMK members were not satisfied with the reply and stormed the well raising slogans like 'Rajapakse down, down' and 'we want justice'.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Maitreyan said the article, which had an objectionable headline and illustration, appearing in the Sri Lankan defence ministry website was "derogatory" to Jayalalithaa. He asked whether the government would summon the Sri Lankan high commissioner as this was "an insult" of not only the Tamil Nadu government but also the Union government.

Jayalalithaa had earlier said the visual rendering on the homepage of the official website just above the link is highly objectionable as it depicted both the Prime Minister of India and the chief minister of Tamil Nadu in a very trivialized, derogatory and disrespectful manner.

AIADMK leader in Lok Sabha M Thambidurai demanded that the House adopt a "strong and unanimous resolution condemning Sri Lanka" so that such incident do not recur.

Following controversy over an article critical of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and an accompanying graphic published on its website, Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry issued an “unqualified apology” on Friday.

“The article which had been published without appropriate authorisation and not reflecting any official position of the Government of Sri Lanka or Ministry of Defence and Urban Development has since been removed.

We extend an unqualified apology to the Hon. Prime Minister of India and Hon Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,” said the statement on the home page of the Defence Ministry’s official website.

The article was published on the Defence Ministry website, accompanied by a graphic representation of Mr. Modi and Ms. Jayalalithaa. “It was a lapse of editorial judgment on the part of the officer who was in-charge. We take full responsibility for it and deeply regret it,” Army spokesperson Ruwan Wanigasooriya told The Hindu.

Terming the visual "inappropriate", he said: "We are not a newspaper, we are a government website. This is totally unacceptable."

The views of the writer Shenali D. Waduge, a regular columnist with the state-run Daily News in Colombo, did not reflect the views of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, or of the government, he said. “We have enormous respect for heads of state,” Mr. Wanigasooriya said.

The piece, critical of Tamil Nadu fishermen and of claims made by Tamil Nadu to Kachchatheevu, comes at a time when fishermen of both countries are expressing serious concern over the absence of a sustainable solution to the Palk Bay crisis.