A concerned India has clearly told Sri Lanka once again that it needs to implement the 13th amendment which devolves powers to the provincial councils and not dilute it.
The message was conveyed to Lankan minister for economic development Basil Rajapaksa who was here on a day-long visit on Friday. Other than being a minister, Basil Rajapaksa is also a key political adviser to his brother, Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Further, New Delhi also conveyed to the Lankans that it does not want either provincial autonomy or the national reconciliation process diluted or undermined in any manner. India has earlier expressed its dismay over reports on such moves.
It’s learnt that the Sri Lankans told the Indian side on Tuesday that they wish to continue remaining engaged with New Delhi on the issue of the 13th amendment. However, New Delhi remains worried as it fears that Lankan moves to dilute the 13th amendment will take place once it has hosted the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) in November. While New Delhi and Colombo have their differences on the implementation of the 13th amendment, Friday’s discussions were described as a “constructive engagement”. The Lankan leader also met national security adviser Shivshankar Menon and foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai on Friday. Despite the clear message that New Delhi conveyed to Colombo on the 13th amendment — it was the outcome of the 1987 India-Sri Lanka accord — his meetings are said to have taken place in a “warm and positive spirit”. The meeting between the two leaders took place on a day when the Sri Lankan government announced elections to the Tamil-dominated northern province in September. Mr Khurshid also urged Mr Rajapaksa to “go beyond” the 13th amendment in order to “ensure meaningful development of Sri Lanka”.