india

Updated: Oct 17, 2018 23:33 IST

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena made a telephone call to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, specifically to reject a report about an Indian security agency’s purported involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate him.

Sirisena said the “mischievous and malafide reports were utterly baseless and false” and appeared to be aimed at creating a “misunderstanding between the two leaders as well as damage the cordial relations between the two friendly neighbours”, according to an official statement.

He categorically rejected reports in sections of the media about him “alluding to the involvement of India in any manner whatsoever in an alleged plot to assassinate the President and former defence secretary of Sri Lanka”.

Reports in a section of the media had cited sources present at a cabinet meeting in Colombo on Tuesday as saying that the president had accused India’s Research and Analysis Wing of plotting his assassination.

The reports came just a day before Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s two-day official visit to India, during which he will hold talks with Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

Officials in the security establishment in New Delhi completely denied any involvement in anti-Sri Lanka activities and alluded to the possibility that China , whose presence and influence in Sri Lanka is growing, may be been behind the mischief.

The statement said Sirisena informed Modi of the “urgent steps” taken by him and his government to publicly reject the reports. He also referred to his meeting with the Indian high commissioner in Colombo on Wednesday morning to discuss the matter.

Sirisena said he regards Modi as a “true friend of Sri Lanka” and a “close personal friend”. He added he greatly values the mutually beneficial ties between the two countries and remained committed to working with Modi for further strengthening the relationship.

Modi appreciated the prompt steps taken by Sirisena and his government to “firmly refute the malicious reports”, the statement said. He reiterated India’s emphasis on the “neighbourhood first” policy and the priority attached by him and his government to developing stronger all-round cooperation.

Even before Sirisena spoke to the Indian premier, Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry issued a statement that described the media reports as “baseless and false”. It said bilateral relations, “including at the highest levels of government are strong, encompassing multiple spheres including intelligence-sharing”.

“It is disappointing, therefore, that matters of this nature have become the subject of distorted and erroneous media reports, taking the President’s remarks out of context, which has given rise to further media and social media speculation and the spread of unfounded fear among the public,” the statement said