India has asked Sri Lanka for an early resumption of talks with Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the umbrella organisation of Tamil political parties, and to resolve core political issues in a timely manner.
The issue was emphatically put forward by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, when he met his Sri Lankan counterpart Sarath Amunugama, here last week on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
"India would like to see an early resumption of the dialogue between the Sri Lankan Government and the TNA as also a more purposeful approach to the core political issues and concrete progress in a timely manner," an Indian official told PTI on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the press.
"We would like to see Sri Lanka arrive at a solution that answers substantially to the aspirations of the Tamil community for justice, peace and dignity," the senior Indian official said referring to the conversation between the two finance ministers; during which the two leaders also discussed the Indian assistance to Sri Lanka on a economic issues.
It is believed that Amunugama informed Mukherjee that Sri Lanka has completed the pilot project on completion of 1,000 houses in Northern Lanka and urged India to release the rest of the money for the construction of 50,000 houses for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), which has been committed by India.
India has announced USD 125 million for the relief and rehabilitation of the IDPs in Northern and Eastern Lanka.
