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.
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"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.
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Udaya Gammanpila, a Rajapaksa backer, had threatened to set the bridge on fire in a public statement.
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"I heard him saying this, I ask him not to talk nonsense. There is no such bridge," Sirisena said.
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Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also in parliament yesterday denied moves to build a bridge.
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The joint opposition has also mounted a stiff opposition to the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) between Sri Lanka and India.
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They dub it as a sellout to India which would deny Sri Lankans employment opportunities.Â