Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday voiced concern over the arrest of former Sri Lankan President and six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Tharoor urged the Sri Lankan government to refrain from “politics of vengeance” and to treat the veteran leader with respect and dignity, considering his decades of service to the nation.

“Concerned about the detention of former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on what, on the face of it, seem trivial charges. His health issues have already seen him taken to the prison hospital. I call on the government of Sri Lanka — while fully respecting that this is their internal matter — to abjure the politics of vengeance and treat their former President with the respect and dignity that he deserves, after his decades of service to the nation,” Tharoor said in a post on X.

Senior Sri Lankan journalist S. Venkata Narayana also criticized the arrest, calling it “highly ridiculous,” and suggested that India could provide medical assistance to the 76-year-old leader if necessary. Narayana added that Wickremesinghe had always worked for Sri Lanka and questioned the administration under current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Why Was Wickremesinghe Arrested?
According to NewsWire Lanka, Wickremesinghe was detained on Friday on charges of misappropriation of government funds. Reports suggest the allegations stem from the use of government funds for a private trip to London, where he attended a university graduation ceremony. Investigators claim the visit was part of a larger foreign trip, but it was not an official government event.

Wickremesinghe’s Political Career
Ranil Wickremesinghe, a six-time Prime Minister, served as Sri Lanka’s interim President after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted in July 2022. He contested the 2024 presidential election but was defeated by Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People’s Power party in September.