Tamil politicians and activists in the North-East told the visiting Indian delegation to drop with "obsession" with the 13th Amendment.
K. Guruparan, lecturer of Law, at the Jaffna University, was quoted by The Hindu as saying:
“We told them that the 13th Amendment in itself had several contradictions and explained how, constitutionally, it would be difficult to implement anything beyond the 13th Amendment.”
Along with Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), Guruparan stressed the that the 13th Amendment was 'not an adequate starting point in addressing the problems of the Tamils'.
Countering the suggestion that the Northern Provincial Council elections would provide a "window of opportunity", members of the civil society in the North-East asserted a "transitional administration" where Tamils had tangible powers in education, health and livelihood issues was needed.
Guruparan added:
“In this model, the Sri Lankan government will also have a role and so will representatives of various communities. If the government is willing to engage with this option, we could work out the modalities,”
Suresh Premachandran of the TNA said:
“We told the visiting MPs that the ongoing genocide has to end here. There are serious livelihood issues prompting Tamils to leave the country. We need an interim administration, overseen by India or the United Nations, until there is a final political settlement for the Tamils.”
The General Secretary of the TNPF, S Kajendran commented:
“We hope that they take our message back to the Indian government. India has to intervene and ensure there is no discrimination based on ethnicity."