No decision on whether PM will attend CHOGM: MEA

By PTI

Updated: Thursday, October 31, 2013, 18:14 [IST]

New Delhi, Oct 31: No decision has been taken so far on whether the Prime Minister will attend the CHOGM meet in Sri Lanka on November 15-16, External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday,asserting it will be taken after considering all aspects including "national interest" and "international obligations".

"A process has been set in motion to arrive at a decision on this matter. We are taking into consideration all aspects our national interest, our foreign policy priorities and our international obligation. That process has not reached its culmination...," the Spokesperson in the MEA said.

He was asked whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be attending the meet of Commonwealth Heads of Government in Colombo. The Spokesperson's comment comes a day after the Congress Core Committee met to discuss the strategy to be adopted on the contentious issue.

Parties in Tamil Nadu are strongly opposed to Singh's participation in the Summit, alleging that Sri Lanka has indulged in atrocities against ethnic Tamils.

Scaling up pressure on the Centre, Tamil Nadu Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution demanding that India "completely" boycott the meeting in Sri Lanka and seek temporary suspension of the island nation from Commonwealth.

Asked about Chief Minister of Northern Provincial Council C V Vigneswaran writing to Singh, the Spokesperson said the letter was received on October 28 and broadly the Lankan leader had expressed his gratitude for Indian assistance and invited him to visit Jaffna.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam has said India would be isolated if it does not participate in the summit. "Human rights violation takes place in every country in the world.

We have our share of it and we are making effort to correct them.

All the governments in the Commonwealth had decided unanimously that the Summit will be held in Sri Lanka, so there is no boycott. Isolation will happen to those who do not participate not the other way round, he had said.

PTI