Talking to Hindustan Times, Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Sri Lankan President and the leader of the Opposition said that India is one of the most experienced players when it comes to tackling terrorism. and will be taken very seriously by Sri Lanka

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sri Lanka visit on Sunday, Mahinda Rajapaksa, former President and the leader of the Opposition, shared his views on the security situation in South Asia in the wake of the Easter attacks in the island nation that killed over 250 people. He spoke to Padma Rao Sundarji

Q. PM Modi is arriving on Sunday. What are your expectations from his visit?

A. PM Modi coming to Sri Lanka soon after his re-election and the invitation to Bimstec leaders to his inauguration this year is a good gesture. Not only is India the largest country of this region, but PM Modi is also one of its senior-most politicians.

Q. What is on your agenda for Sunday’s meeting?

A. It will be mostly about the Easter attacks, the security situation here and terrorism at the hands of the [terror outfit] Islamic State (IS). Given its size, terrorists may feel that the easiest place for to go and hide is India. These attacks would not have taken place had our government acted upon the information given by India in such detail. It didn’t do so. Its negligence is to blame for the carnage.

Q. You are credited widely for being the president who ended 30 years of civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). What would have your government done to prevent the Easter attacks?

A. As an early riser, the first thing I would do as president– sometimes at 6 am – is to meet the chief of national intelligence every single day. Gotabhaya [Rajapaksa], my brother, who was defence secretary at the time, would compile dozens of intelligence reports from seven intelligence units into a single one for the Security Council every week. That’s how we knew what was going on.

That should have been continued by the current government. Instead, they gave 43 intelligence officials third-class treatment. They were taken into custody, remanded and later dropped altogether.

My government was alert to Islamist terrorism. We knew that it is a matter of time before they strike Sri Lanka...India gave us many prior warnings and we always took them seriously... India is one of the most experienced players when it comes to tackling terrorism. We will take them very seriously.

Q. Observers who have watched you and PM Modi found a similarity: zero tolerance approach to terror... Will that similarity come in handy to improve relations over the next five years?

A. Everybody sees that similarity and is expecting us to have good chemistry. Unfortunately, the last time PM Modi and I met, we had no time to get to know each other.

However, I naturally feel that we can work together. But the Indian PM has always been very kind.

Even after I had lost the last presidential election to the current incumbent, he invited me to come and see him.