Rajapaksa Govt Looking At Abolishing 13th Amendment
Sunday, October 21, 2012
- Opposition plagued with divisions
- Divi Neguma Bill puts Sri Lanka and India on collision course
The Mahinda Rajapaksa government is edging towards a head on collision with neighboring India over the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.The government’s steadfastness in getting the controversial Divi Neguma Bill implemented amidst accusations that the piece of legislation usurped powers vested with the provincial councils would mess up Indo-Sri Lanka relations that are being mended following the March resolution.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, Manmohan Singh, R. Sampanthan and Ranil Wickremesinghe
President Rajapaksa’s visit to New Delhi last month was the icebreaker after India voted in favor of a US backed resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in March.
New Delhi also wanted to make its peace with Sri Lanka seeing how the Rajapaksa government was cozying up to the Chinese. In fact it only took three high-powered Chinese government delegations to arrive in the country for New Delhi to show a shift in its stance towards Sri Lanka.
During the President’s visit to New Delhi, Indian Premier Manmohan Singh said that India would stand by Sri Lanka at future international fora and that it would try to convince the TNA to take part in the political process to find a lasting solution.
Be that as it may, New Delhi is now at a crossroad where it is faced with showing its displeasure at the Sri Lankan government for not honoring its promises or turning a blind eye and continues to get closer to the government to keep the Chinese at bay.
Nevertheless, the TNA parliamentary delegation that recently visited New Delhi also drew attention to the Divi Neguma Bill. The party to show the Indians that they had a genuine grievance since the Sri Lankan government was not keen on devolving powers to the provinces cited the Bill as an example.
The TNA delegation explained in detail about the Bill and how it encroaches on provincial powers.
The TNA noted that the government would not honor its continuous commitment to India that it would devolve power in line with the 13th Amendment and would even go beyond it to find a lasting political solution.
TNA Leader R. Sampnathan says that the notion of power being exercised by the people is completely lost when power is excessively centralized by taking powers from the provinces.
During the visit to New Delhi, the Indian government had requested the TNA to participate in the proposed parliamentary select committee (PSC), but had later remained silent after hearing the lack of interest shown by the Rajapaksa government to honor its commitment to India.
The 13th Amendment has always been a sensitive issue to the Indians given that it was imposed on Sri Lanka during the tenure of President J. R. Jayewardene.
Since the introduction of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the Indians have been continuously pushing for the full implementation of the legislation.
The Indian government is now closely monitoring the process of pushing for the Divi Neguma Bill and how the government plans to move forward with the provincial councils and the 13th Amendment.
Following discussions on the matter with the Indian government, the TNA returned to the country maintaining their previous stance – bi-lateral talks with the government before attending the PSC.
New Delhi also wanted to make its peace with Sri Lanka seeing how the Rajapaksa government was cozying up to the Chinese. In fact it only took three high-powered Chinese government delegations to arrive in the country for New Delhi to show a shift in its stance towards Sri Lanka.
During the President’s visit to New Delhi, Indian Premier Manmohan Singh said that India would stand by Sri Lanka at future international fora and that it would try to convince the TNA to take part in the political process to find a lasting solution.
Be that as it may, New Delhi is now at a crossroad where it is faced with showing its displeasure at the Sri Lankan government for not honoring its promises or turning a blind eye and continues to get closer to the government to keep the Chinese at bay.
Nevertheless, the TNA parliamentary delegation that recently visited New Delhi also drew attention to the Divi Neguma Bill. The party to show the Indians that they had a genuine grievance since the Sri Lankan government was not keen on devolving powers to the provinces cited the Bill as an example.
The TNA delegation explained in detail about the Bill and how it encroaches on provincial powers.
The TNA noted that the government would not honor its continuous commitment to India that it would devolve power in line with the 13th Amendment and would even go beyond it to find a lasting political solution.
TNA Leader R. Sampnathan says that the notion of power being exercised by the people is completely lost when power is excessively centralized by taking powers from the provinces.
During the visit to New Delhi, the Indian government had requested the TNA to participate in the proposed parliamentary select committee (PSC), but had later remained silent after hearing the lack of interest shown by the Rajapaksa government to honor its commitment to India.
The 13th Amendment has always been a sensitive issue to the Indians given that it was imposed on Sri Lanka during the tenure of President J. R. Jayewardene.
Since the introduction of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the Indians have been continuously pushing for the full implementation of the legislation.
The Indian government is now closely monitoring the process of pushing for the Divi Neguma Bill and how the government plans to move forward with the provincial councils and the 13th Amendment.
Following discussions on the matter with the Indian government, the TNA returned to the country maintaining their previous stance – bi-lateral talks with the government before attending the PSC.
