Sri Lanka is facing an acute economic crisis, and its armed force was unable to pay nominal fees for a training exercise in India, the Indian Union Minister of State for Defence and Tourism Ajay Bhatt claimed yesterday (20).
According to the Indian Express, Bhatt made the controversial statement while speaking at a session on ‘AatmaNirbharta in Defence R&D – Synergistic Approach’ at the DefExpo at Gandhinagar.
Citing Sri Lanka as an example to show the damage a dependent democratic country can suffer, Bhatt emphasized the need to attain self-reliance.
“When the management (of a country) is not right, it becomes like Sri Lanka… owing to the poor economic situation, they had to ask for aid (from other countries). The saddest part was their (Sri Lanka) Army officers who came for training (in India) did not even have the means to pay for the nominal fee. They requested that the fee be adjusted this year and (said) would pay next year when they may have the money,” he said.
When contacted regarding the allegations made by the Indian Union Minister, Military Spokesman Brig Ravi Herath declined to comment.
Full article: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/sri-lanka-india-mos-defence-ajay-bhatt-8221825/ (NewsWire)