India to vote against Sri Lanka in UNHRC

India to vote against Sri Lanka in UNHRC

PUDUCHERRY: India will vote in support of a US-backed resolution against Sri Lanka proposed to be moved before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva next month, Union minister in the Prime Minister’s Office ( PMO) V Narayansamy said on Sunday.

Talking to reporters, he said that PM Manmohan Singh has promised to support the resolution against Sri Lanka on war crimes and human rights violations at the UNHRC meeting. Narayanasamy said he along with MPs from Tamil Nadu recently called on the Prime Minister and asked him to extend support to the US-sponsored resolution for holding Sri Lanka responsible for war crimes and to vote against the island nation.

The sentiments of Tamil people are running high after pictures of slain LTTE leader Prabakaran and his son Balachandran were released in the media recently, Narayanasamy said. India was one of the 24 countries that voted against Sri Lanka on human rights violations at the UNHRC meet in March last year. “We called on the Prime Minister and insisted that he support the resolution against Sri Lanka on war crimes. He promised to do so,” Narayanasamy said.

Refuting Puducherry chief minister N Rangasamy’s charge that the Union government has not been releasing adequate funds to the Puducherry government, Narayanasamy said the government failed to utilize the plan outlay of Rs 2,750 crore for the financial year 2011-12 and the outlay was revised to Rs 1,664 crore. He said that the government spent only Rs 1,603 crore to press home his point that lack of funds did not hamper the development of the Union territory as much as the poor administrative policies.

He charged that the Puducherry government failed to utilize the entire Rs 146-crore assistance extended by the Union government through the HUDCO. The government spent just Rs 31 crore and returned the unspent money to the Union government.

With regard to the central assistance for undertaking Thane cyclone relief and rehabilitation work, Narayanasamy said the Union government could not release the second installment of Rs 50 crore as the Puducherry government failed to provide accounts for the first installment assistance of Rs 75 crore. (Source: India Times)