At a time when political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the DMK the erstwhile ally of the Congress, are up in arms over reports that the Centre has decided to supply two naval warships to Sri Lanka during 2017-18, Union Minister for State in the Prime Minister’s Office, V Narayanasamy, on Tuesday confirmed the reports were indeed true.
Answering media queries at the airport here, Narayanasamy said, “The decision to give two naval warships to Sri Lanka is not based on a new agreement. The ships are being given based on an agreement between India and Lanka signed a couple of years ago.”
The minister said many political parties, including the DMK, PMK, MDMK and Congress, have opposed the decision to give warships to Lanka. “The views of these political parties would be conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,” Narayanasamy said.