Daily News Mail - News of 19/04/2015

Sri Lanka neither pro-India nor pro-China: Wickramasinghe

• Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe has said Sri Lanka is neither pro-India nor pro-China.
• Mr Wickramasinghe was replying to questions from reporters during his visit to the Sreekrishna Temple here on Saturday. As about his controversial statement in an interview to a Tamil TV channel that Indian fishermen might be shot if they intruded into Sri Lankan waters, he said: “The Sri Lankan government primarily represents the interests of Sri Lankans.”
• Calling for better ties between the two countries, Mr. Wickramasinghe said: “We must move ahead,” pointing to visits by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s to India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka.”
• Mr. Wickramasinghe said his visit to the temple was for thanksgiving. “I had promised to offer worship in the temple if the results in the Sri Lankan elections were favourable.” He offered ‘thulabharam’ with sandalwood.

Ranil Wickramsinghe, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Modi’s project under NGT radar

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s grand plan to erect a giant statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the “Statue of Unity” expected to be the tallest in the world at 182 metres, on the Sadhu Bet island on the Narmada near Vadodara, has come under National Green Tribunal scrutiny. 
• The Tribunal has asked the Gujarat government to file a reply before May 8 to allegations of irregularities in the project. A group of nearly 10 environmental activists from the State have submitted a petition before the Tribunal’s Western Bench in Pune.