INDIA STILL INSISTING ON DEVOLUTION OF POWER
India's External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said that the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi should be respected.
In an interview with the Khabar South Asia news agency, Kurshid said that the Indo- Lanka accord was a result of a request from the Sri Lankan government. “Our stand on the matter is that the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi should be respected.
The Sri Lankan government sought our help, and, in response to that, we were promised that there would be devolution of power from the centre to t he states -- like it is in India,” he said.
Following are relevant excerpts of the interview-:
Khabar: During your recent visit to Sri Lanka did you convey your concerns about Tamil representation in government? Is the India government ready to assist Sri Lanka to calm Sinhalese concerns about a northern Tamil political power base?
Khurshid: Our stand on the matter is that the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi should be respected.
The Sri Lankan government sought our help, and, in response to that, we were promised that there would be devolution of power from the centre to states -like it is in India. Sri Lanka is a sovereign state. It is for them to decide about their country. We were assured that the 13th amendment would give Sri Lankans, Tamils and other ethnicities the right to live with dignity and honour.