While advocating closer economic ties between Sri lanka and India, particularly in the tourism sector, senior BJP leaders who visited the island nation recently, have asked the lankan Government to release the trawlers of Indian fishermen seized by its authorities and sought a permanent resolution of the “livelihood issue” by adopting “sensitive, flexible and creative steps”.
Promoting religious and cultural tourism between India and Sri lanka “around Hindu-Buddhist religious circles” evoked “consensus” on both sides. An array of issues were discussed by BJP general secretary Muralidhar Rao and global convenor for BJP’s overseas affairs, Vijay Jolly, with top Sri lankan leadership on the sidelines of the six-day RsGeneral Assembly of International Conference of Asian Political PartiesRs at Colombo that concluded on September 23.
The two were representing the BJP at the annual conference that opened on September 18.The meet was inaugurated by Sri lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and addressed, among others, by President of Maldives Abdulla Yameen and leader of Opposition in Sri lanka Ranil Wickramasighe. The conference noted that “after 300 years” the centre of global power was shifting towards the Asian continent.
While appreciating Rajapaksa for the recent move of the lankan government to release the arrested Indian fishermen, the BJP leaders also requested release of the trawlers seized. Addressing a press conference here, Rao said since the NDA Government under the leadership of Narendra Modi came to power, 94 fishermen have been released by the Sri lankan Government but trawlers are yet to be released.
He said that the issue related to the fishermen should be seen as “an issue of livelihood” and there was need for a new maritime Indo-lankan policy to solve this recurrent problem which was also stressed at the meeting. The BJP general secretary, who also interacted with leaders of the Tamil ethnic community, said the resolution of the Tamil problem is possible only through devolution and the end of terrorism should not be taken as the end of the whole issue.
Rao said he stressed at the meeting with the Sri lankan President that the dialogue with the Tamil National Alliance and other representatives of the Tamil community should be restarted immediately. The conference contemplated that “if the 19th century was characterized as the British century and the 20th century as the American century, the 21st century will be the ‘Asian century’”.
The Asian powers “are rising once again from the rack and ruin forced by the colonial rule” and re-strengthening itself to lead the world in the 21st century. The GDP of Asia is expected to increase from 17 trillion dollars in 2010 to 174 trillion dollars by 2050, which will be nearly half of global GDP, Rao said.