The Sri Lankan government must fulfill its commitments to the Sri Lankan Tamil community, said India’s State Minister of External Affairs Minister V Muraleedharan in a statement in the Indian Parliament. 

He also said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on two occasions, called on the Sri Lankan government to fulfill its commitments to its Tamil community. 

“The prime minister called upon the government of Sri Lanka to address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace, and dignity within a united Sri Lanka,” he said in parliament. 

India has consistently called on Sri Lanka to implement the 13th amendment, which includes meaningful devolution of power to provincial councils. Earlier, in his visit to Sri Lanka this year, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, too, had reiterated the demand. 

The statement came at a crucial time when Sri Lanka is facing a strong, and somewhat intrusive, resolution in the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Just days earlier, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had dialed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary has publicly appealed to India for supporting Sri Lanka to defeat the resolution. Despite its constant advocacy for Sri Lankan Tamils, India is likely to abstain from the voting, which is scheduled for 22 March. Although India supports the reconciliation, it is not in favor of any country-specific resolution.