TN people must punish AIADMK-BJP: Chidambaram on India abstaining from SL vote

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday said that the central government has betrayed Tamils following India's abstention from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) vote on the resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said that the AIADMK-BJP alliance will be punished in the upcoming Tamil Nadu polls.

"India abstained from voting on the resolution on Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council. This is a gross betrayal of the Tamil people and their unmous sentiment and desire. The people of Tamil Nadu must and will punish the AIADMK-BJP alliance for this grievous blow to the interests of the Tamils," the former union minister said.

He further asked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to resign if he was forced to instruct India's representative to abstain from voting on the Sri Lanka resolution.

"If Dr S Jaishankar was forced to instruct India's representative to abstain from voting on the Sri Lanka Resolution in the UN Human Rights Council, he should resign in protest against the betrayal of Tamil interests," he said.

India, along with 13 other countries, abstained from voting at UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on the Sri Lanka resolution titled 'Promotion of Reconciliation Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka'.

The resolution, however, was adopted by the council as 22 countries out of 47 voted in its favour.

The resolution was brought after the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights earlier in January released a damning report on gross rights violations in Lanka.

India's decision at UNHRC is bound to have an effect on poll-bound Tamil Nadu, as mainstream political parties AIDMK and DMK had earlier urged the Centre to support the resolution.

Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2.

( With inputs from ANI )