Some parties object to talk on state finances at Lanka meet

An all-party meeting on the situation in Sri Lanka on Tuesday witnessed protests by some regional parties when the government made a presentation on the financial position of Indian states, leading the ministers present to justify it on the grounds that lack of fiscal prudence and good governance had led to the crisis in the neighbouring country and such practices need to be avoided.

The government had convened the meeting suo motu to brief MPs on the political crisis in Sri Lanka and the steps being taken by India to mitigate the suffering of the people there, including Tamilians. A total of 28 political parties participated in the meeting in Parliament annexe, where the government fielded eight union ministers to convince the opposition.

Senior officials of the external affairs and finance ministries made two presentations in the meeting. With finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman indisposed due to Covid-19, the economic affairs secretary and other officials made a slide presentation on the economic status of various Indian states.


This led the All India Trinamool Congress, TRS and YSRCP, among others, to object as they sought to know why such a presentation was being made when the topic of discussion was Sri Lanka. They also asked why the country's financial situation was not being discussed. Opposition has been disrupting Parliament for two days since the monsoon session began on the issue of inflation and price rise.

Asked about the issue, external affairs minister S Jaishankar told the media that though the situation in India is nowhere near what prevails in Sri Lanka, lack of fiscal prudence and good governance had led to the crisis in the neighbouring country and this lesson is important for India as well.

"India is not headed in the direction of Sri Lanka but the logic behind highlighting this issue was to state the importance of fiscal prudence," said Jaishankar.

He said it was a "matter of fact" presentation on the growth rate, liabilities and other aspects of the economic situation in various states. Further, the states should avoid freebies and other sops, he said.

The development comes against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi slamming some political parties and dispensations for distributing "revadis (freebies)" to lure voters.

Jaishankar refused to name the erring states and said he does not wish to score any domestic political points. "But the lessons from Sri Lanka are very strong. We have a responsible government here under Narendra Modi. States should not have a culture of freebies," he said.