Concerns on 13 A should be conveyed to Govt., instead of ‘outsiders’ say top Ministers

Thursday, 20 January 2022 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Cabinet Co-Spokesman Gammanpila says SL is a sovereign country, not a part of the Indian union
Cabinet Co-Spokesman Dr. Pathirana says SL has fully implemented the 13A

By Charumini de Silva

Affirming that the 13th Amendment (13 A) of the Constitution is fully implemented, top Ministers called on the Tamil

Cabinet Co-Spokesman Udaya Gammanpila

Cabinet Co-Spokesman

Dr. Ramesh Pathirana

parties that any concerns over it should be first conveyed to the President or to the elected Government instead of ‘outsiders’.

“If our Tamil parties have any concern or worry about the implementation of the 13th Amendment, they should have conveyed their concerns to our President, instead of the Indian Prime Minister — because we are a sovereign country and not a part of the Indian union,” Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said in response to a query at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing.

On Tuesday, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) met with the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, where it handed over a letter addressed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Our Tamil brothers having any issue with regard to the implementation of the 13th Amendment, they should have talked to our elected Government instead of ‘outsiders’,” Minister Gammanpila added.

Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Plantation Industries Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana told the briefing that Sri Lanka has fully implemented the 13th Amendment of the Constitution.

“We have fully implemented the 13th Amendment and representatives were also elected several times. When the war ended in 2009, then President Mahinda Rajapaksa conducted elections in both the Northern and Eastern provinces. It is implemented. There is no concern about it,” he added.

On Tuesday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, delivering his policy statement after inaugurating the second session of the 9th Parliament invited the Members of Parliament (MPs) representing the people of the North and East to set aside various political ideologies, at least temporarily, and support the Government’s efforts to improve the living conditions of the people in their areas.