Sri Lanka ‘happy’ Jayalalithaa lost clout in New Delhi
President Rajapaksa's administration was pleased that it can do business with the Centre
Colombo: Sri Lanka on Monday said it is pleased that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has lost any bargaining power with the Narendra Modi government because of the majority BJP has on its own in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration was pleased that it could do business with the Centre without Tamil Nadu exercising undue influence, Lanka's media minister and
government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said.
"A powerful government in Delhi is very good for us. Whatever the decision that the Centre takes, it will be without any undue influence from states like Tamil Nadu.”
"We are very happy that there is a very strong government and Prime Minister (-elect) Modi does not have to depend on any other party for his majority. This means even if
Jayalalithaa had won 37 out of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, she would not be in a position to influence the Centre," Rambukwella told reporters here.
He said Rajapaksa was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Modi after his spectacular victory and said both leaders had "a lot of similarities" but did not elaborate.
Modi had led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a massive victory in the general elections, with the party alone getting 282 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.