India’s main opposition Bharatha Janatha Party (BJP) says that it too is in support of the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, as proposed under the Indo-Sri Lanka accord of 1987.
The party’s national spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters in Chennai that the BJP favored the implementation of the 13th amendment and thus ensure the rights of minority Tamils.
Tamil Nadu parties have called for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment without any amendments.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also stressed “on the need that Sri Lanka would stand by the commitment not to dilute the 13th Amendment and would take it forward”.
Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, during a meet with Singh, said that Sri Lanka is in compliance with its obligations in terms of the Indo-Lanka Accord which includes specific provisions on linguistic and cultural aspects.
The 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan constitution, carried out with Indian backing in 1987, aims to ensure autonomy to provinces and by extension to the Tamils in the island’s north.
