PM gets blessings of acharyas for peace
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday received blessings from Hindu priests in southern India for the peace talks beginning in Thailand next month. Mr. Wickremesinghe visited several religious places in South India and after one of the visits told reporters that he felt strengthened by the encouragement given by both the acharyas to the peace efforts of his government, agency reports said.

On Friday, the Prime Minister called on the Sankaracharya of Kanchi Mutt, Sri Jayendra Saraswati, 50 kilometers off Madras. The junior pontiff, Sri Vijayendra Saraswati, was also present during the hour-long meeting, reports said.

The acharya said the Prime Minister had sought his blessings for the peace and prosperity of Sri Lanka. Responding to a question on the proposed peace talks with the LTTE in Thailand, Mr. Wickremesinghe said, "We are looking forward to a lasting peace."

Mr. Wickremesinghe also went to Tiruttani in Tamil Nadu, where he visited a temple built to Hindu god Hanuman by Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka. Tiruttani is about 150 km west of Chennai.

The Prime Minister yesterday also called on Andra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. Mr. Wickremesinghe arrived in Hyderabad last morning and met the chief minister who hosted him for lunch.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said his government would step up efforts and more refugees would be enabled to return from India. He was due to leave for Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, where he will be meeting Chief Minister S. M. Krishna.

Sri Lankan officials said Mr. Wickremesinghe would discuss with the Indian state leaders ways of increasing employment-generating IT-related jobs and boosting cooperation in the IT sector

Back to Top

Back to Front Page

Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Webmaster