A delegation of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs is heading to India tonight to engage in an urgent discussion with the Indian government, on the latest political situation in Sri Lanka, TNA MP Mawai Senadhiraja said.  

 

The TNA delegation inclusive of TNA Leaders R. Sampanthan and Mawai Senadhiraja and MPs M. A. Sumanthiran and Suresh Premachandran is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as several other officials of the Indian government including the External Affairs Minister, during the visit. 

 

“We expressed our wish to discuss the latest political developments in the country and their impacts on the Tamil community with the Indian government and they extended an invitation for us to visit and express our opinions,” MP Senadhiraja said speaking to Daily Mirror Online. 

 

He said that among the topics that would be discussed, are the proposals presented by the government on amendments to be made to the 13th amendment, which were announced earlier his month. “We do not believe the 13th amendment is a solution to the Tamil political problem but we believe it would open doors for a federal system of power sharing. Hence, we do not view the proposed amendments that would result in repealing the powers of the 13th amendment, in a favorable light,” he added. 

 

The 13th amendment was an outcome of the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord. During the past few months, several political parties have been demanding amendments to the 13th amendment in order to revoke its powers. Subsequently, during the first week of June the government announced that the 13th amendment is to be repealed and a parliamentary committee is due to assemble next week to discuss the announced proposals. 

 

However, India has maintained their wish to see the effective implementation of the 13th amendment and the need for its current form to be preserved while expressing concerns over attempts to amend it. (LP)