New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that the situation in Sri Lanka is unprecedented and India is worried about it, however, drawing comparisons is "uninformed". The government told an all-party meeting on Tuesday that India is naturally worried over the Sri Lankan crisis and there are "very strong" lessons of fiscal prudence, responsible governance and not having "a culture of freebies" to be drawn from it.
At the meeting attended by the representatives of 28 political parties, including those from the Congress, the Left parties and the DMK, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, however, dismissed suggestions about such a situation arising in India.
"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. He also said Sri Lanka is still in a "very delicate and fragile condition".
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. The presentation made by Seth saw some regional parties such as the YSR Congress, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) raise objections, according to sources.
"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, Jaishankar 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 in his initial remarks at the meeting. "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.
Also read: Jaishankar-Sitharaman to hold all party meeting on Sri Lanka crisis today