Minister of state in the prime minister’s office (PMO) V Narayanasamy and environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan came out openly against the visit. Finance minister P Chidambaram and shipping minister G K Vasan have already expressed their reservations on the same.
Narayanasamy on Monday said: ‘I have conveyed my opinion to the prime minister that he should not visit Sri Lanka.’ Representing Puducherry which has a substantial Tamil population, he said majority of Congress ministers and MPs from Tamil Nadu do not want the prime minister to participate in the CHOGM taking place on 15-18 November.
‘Some ministers have met the prime minister insisting that he should not attend the meeting while few others have not met. But the majority opinion is that he should not visit Sri Lanka,’ he said.
Echoing similar sentiments, Natarajan said in Chennai that she would write a letter to Singh urging him not to attend the Commonwealth summit. ‘With the atrocities against Tamils in Sri Lanka and the sentiments of people in Tamil Nadu, I hope the prime minister will take a good decision,’ she told reporters.
After DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s vehement opposition to the meet, P Chidambaram had called on him at his house on Saturday. Karunanidhi had a day before said that Congress would bite dust (in Parliament poll) if the PM chose to attend CHOGM.
At the same time, however, another Congress leader from Tamil Nadu S Natchiappan, who is minister of state for commerce, advocated that PM should attend the meet.
It all started a month back with Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa deciding to mount pressure on Singh for boycotting the meet in view of alleged human rights violations and discrimination against Tamil minority in that country.
Narayanasamy on Monday said: ‘I have conveyed my opinion to the prime minister that he should not visit Sri Lanka.’ Representing Puducherry which has a substantial Tamil population, he said majority of Congress ministers and MPs from Tamil Nadu do not want the prime minister to participate in the CHOGM taking place on 15-18 November.
‘Some ministers have met the prime minister insisting that he should not attend the meeting while few others have not met. But the majority opinion is that he should not visit Sri Lanka,’ he said.
Echoing similar sentiments, Natarajan said in Chennai that she would write a letter to Singh urging him not to attend the Commonwealth summit. ‘With the atrocities against Tamils in Sri Lanka and the sentiments of people in Tamil Nadu, I hope the prime minister will take a good decision,’ she told reporters.
After DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s vehement opposition to the meet, P Chidambaram had called on him at his house on Saturday. Karunanidhi had a day before said that Congress would bite dust (in Parliament poll) if the PM chose to attend CHOGM.
At the same time, however, another Congress leader from Tamil Nadu S Natchiappan, who is minister of state for commerce, advocated that PM should attend the meet.
It all started a month back with Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa deciding to mount pressure on Singh for boycotting the meet in view of alleged human rights violations and discrimination against Tamil minority in that country.