President Sirisena rubbishes India-Lanka bridge claims

President Maithripala Sirisena has rubbished as "baseless" claims by supporters of his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa that Sri Lanka had agreed to an Indian proposal to build a bridge linking the island to India.

"These are completely baseless claims. They have seized on what some Indian politicians had uttered during local elections in Tamil Nadu," Sirisena said addressing a gathering here last night.

Udaya Gammanpila, a Rajapaksa backer, had threatened to set the bridge on fire in a public statement.

"I heard him saying this, I ask him not to talk nonsense. There is no such bridge," Sirisena said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also in parliament yesterday denied moves to build a bridge.

The joint opposition has also mounted a stiff opposition to the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) between Sri Lanka and India.

They dub it as a sellout to India which would deny Sri Lankans employment opportunities.