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Lankan defence chief says a prayer at Puttaparthy

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Prayers for a demoralised army? Or the last resort of a commander in times of war?

Sri Lankan chief of defence, General Rohan De'Silva Daluvatte, is at Puttaparthy, holy seat of Sai Baba, the godman with millions of followers across the globe.

Authoritative sources in the defence services and diplomatic circles ruled out any official engagement for the Sri Lankan chief, whose men are caught in a bloody battle with the LTTE rebels. The Tigers have been claiming that they are only a few miles away from Jaffna.

The external affairs ministry spokesman R S Jassal confirmed that General Daluvatte is in India. He told rediff.com that the "government of India is facilitating" the defence chief's visit. And the army is "extending due courtesy" to Daluvatte.

He said the visit had nothing to do with the ongoing conflict in Lanka.

General Daluvatte was received at the Chennai airport on Wednesday morning by the area commander Major General S P Kapur. He later proceeded to Bangalore.

The Indian Express said on Thursday that Daluvatte was on a "four-day classified visit to India."

It claimed that his visit would probe the "possibilities of ensuring regular logistics support to Lankan troops trapped in Jaffna peninsula. All possibilities minus a direct involvement by India might be discussed."

It also said that the Sri Lanka wants Indian air force to protect the supply channels to Jaffna where more than 35,000 soldiers are fighting to safeguard the crucial town.

The report went on to claim that the Sri Lanka might want India to fly a few sorties over Jaffna everyday.

Authoritative sources in the government denied all these claims.

"Isn't it illogical to suggest that the Sri Lankan defence chief would discuss with some area commander a formal role for India in the conflict? If it were to happen, he would have been in Delhi, meeting political leadership. In fact, it would be someone above him who would have been here," a senior government source said.

The Sri Lankan defence chief is accompanied by his family and six officials.

He arrived by the 9.15 am flight from Colombo to Chennai on Wednesday, and went to the army training centre at Chennai. He left the city at around 2 pm and reached Bangalore.

He is believed to be at Puttaparthy now. The defence chief would return to Colombo only by May 21, according to information available.

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