PTI Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa offering prayers at Sanchi
Stupa on Friday.
Colombo, Sep 27:
India today dismissed reports that its missiles targeted strategic Sri
Lankan locations, calling them “completely baseless and fabricated.”
In a statement, the Indian High Commission here said that India has a
longstanding indigenous missile development programme, which is defensive in
nature and not directed against any country.
“Speculation on such sensitive issues in a manner calculated to mislead,
is out of tune with the spirit of the friendly and close relations India and
Sri Lanka enjoy, including in the fields of defence and security,” it said.
The statement, which dismissed these reports as “completely baseless and
fabricated”, came as Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed his
satisfaction over his personal meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in
New Delhi last week.
“The visit was successful. It helped in further strengthening of our
long and historical relations with India as our closest neighbour,” Mahinda
Rajapaksa said during his monthly interaction with media.
Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Madhya Pradesh on September 19 to lay the
foundation stone for a Buddhist University in Sanchi and met Manmohan Singh in
Delhi.
His visit to India came against the backdrop of attacks on Sri Lankan
pilgrims in Tamil Nadu, forcing the government here to issue a travel advisory
warning against travel to the Indian state.
Rajapaksa’s secretary Lalith Weeratunga, who was with the President at
the media interaction, said Sri Lanka was keeping a tab on the latest
developments.
Action would be taken to review the advisory depending on the
developments, Lalith Weeratunga said.
