Sirisena says RAW plotting to kill him – The Hindu
Posted on October 17th, 2018
Courtesy The Island
‘Indian national must be a RAW agent trying to kill me. The Indian PM may not be aware. That is often the case. Trump may not be aware of CIA’s similar moves’
The Hindu has reported that President Maithripala Sirisena, at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, accused India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of plotting to assassinate him.
The Hindu report, dated Oct. 16, says President Sirisena, who was speaking at the weekly Cabinet meeting, told Ministers that the Indian intelligence agency was ‘trying to kill’ him, but that ‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not be aware of the plan’.
Quoting sources present at the discussion, The Hindu has said:
“We were just shocked when he said it,” a source said, requesting anonymity.
When contacted for verification, a senior officer at the President’s media unit said:
“We will verify this and revert.” However, there has been no response till the time of going to print.
Excerpts of The Hindu report:
“President Sirisena’s claim comes days before Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s scheduled visit to New Delhi, where he will meet Modi to discuss bilateral matters, including key, India-assisted projects on the island.
“At Tuesday’s meeting, Sirisena reportedly said “the Indian national must be a RAW agent trying to kill me. The Indian PM may not be aware. That is often the case. Trump may not be aware of CIA’s similar moves.”
“The Hindu, on Tuesday evening, spoke to multiple sources in government — across political parties — who attended the meeting, and they confirmed this.
“Tuesday’s meeting also saw a heated argument between President Sirisena and Wickremesinghe, when a cabinet paper on developing the Colombo Port came up for discussion. Sources said Sirisena vehemently objected to any Indian involvement in upgrading its east container terminal – a project that New Delhi has been keen to take up.
“However, Wickremesinghe is said to have countered by saying Colombo had already promised New Delhi on collaborating on the project, and it was important to rope in India at the terminal, given that about 80% of the cargo handled at the transhipment hub was meant for India. He reportedly sought a week’s time to sort out the issue, since he would be meeting Modi soon.”