Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today congratulated Narendra Modi on his party's massive victory in the Indian general election and invited him on a state visit.
Rajapaksa telephoned Modi to congratulate him on his resounding victory and extended an invitation to the BJP prime ministerial candidate to visit the island-nation, President's spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said.
The BJP win was welcomed in Sri Lanka as the Rajapaksa government's relations with the Congress Party led-UPA government had soured over the years.
The Congress government had backed two UN Human Rights Council resolutions against Sri Lanka while it abstained from voting during the US-backed resolution in March. Leading commentator Dayan Jayathilaka said the BJP victory would lead the India-Lanka relations into a decisive phase.