External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said Sri Lanka is facing “a very serious crisis” that makes India naturally worried. He made the remark during an all-party meeting held in Delhi on the unfolding situation in the island nation and dismissed suggestions about such a situation arising in India.
Jaishankar and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi were among the senior members of the government at the briefing, which was also attended by opposition leaders such as – Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Manickam Tagore, NCP’s Sharad Pawar and TR Baalu and MM Abdulla of the DMK.
“The reason we took the initiative to request you all to join an all-party meeting was…this is a very serious crisis and what we are seeing in Sri Lanka is in many ways an unprecedented situation,” Jaishankar, who made the initial remarks, said, adding, “It is a matter which pertains to a very close neighbor and given the near proximity, we naturally worry about the consequences, the spillover it has for us.”
The government said there are “very strong” lessons of fiscal prudence, responsible governance and not having “a culture of freebies” to be drawn from it. “The ball is in the court of Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and they are holding discussions. They need an agreement, then we (India) will see what supportive role we can play,” Jaishankar said after the meeting.
Jaishankar also said there have seen some “misinformed comparisons” in the context of crisis-hit Sri Lanka wherein some people have asked whether “can such a situation happen in India”.
Two presentations were made at the meeting — one by Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on the Sri Lankan crisis and its political implications and another by Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth on the fiscal health of all the Indian states.
“We do not think that a Sri Lanka-like situation can arise in India. But there was a logic to what we were trying to do, we were trying to highlight the importance of fiscal prudence. So it was not that we highlighted one or two states, we had almost every state. There was no political intent in this,” Jaishankar said about the presentation on the states’ fiscal health.
“It was a data-based presentation of a comparative situation in India so that every political party and leader leaves with a good and clear message,” he said. Jaishankar concluded the meeting emphasising on the lessons that need to be drawn from the Sri Lankan crisis and said the big lessons to be learnt from it are fiscal prudence and good governance.
“Fortunately, in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have both in ample amounts,” he said.
When reporters asked him about the lessons that are to be learnt from the neighbouring country, he said, “Lessons of Sri Lanka are very very strong. They are of fiscal prudence, responsible governance and that there should not be a culture of freebies.” “The reason we took the initiative to request you all to join an all-party meeting was…this is a very serious crisis and what we are seeing in Sri Lanka is in many ways an unprecedented situation,” Jaishankar said.
“It is a matter which pertains to a very close neighbour and given the near proximity, we naturally worry about the consequences, the spillover it has for us,” he added.
He said the leaders were also informed that the support that India has extended to Sri Lanka since January amounts to USD 3.8 billion. “No country has given this level of support to Sri Lanka and the initiative that we are taking to help them facilitate their engagement with others such as the IMF,” he said.
“So what we have done is we have asked the finance ministry to make a presentation and brought out a state-wise revenue-to-expenses comparison…unpaid dues of discoms,” he said.
Other who attended the meeting were – AIADMK’s M Thambidurai, Saugata Ray from TMC, Farooq Abdullah from National Conference), AAP’s Sanjay Singh, TRS leader Keshava Rao, BSP’s Ritesh Pandey, Vijayasai Reddy from YSR Congress and MDMK’s Vaiko.
Since the last few months, Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis in seven decades as a severe foreign exchange shortage has hampered the import of essentials items, including food, fuel and medicines. The economic crisis has also sparked a political crisis in the country after a public anger against the government. Acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency in Sri Lanka.
(with inputs from PTI)
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