The 13-member delegation, headed by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, met Singh at Parliament House for over 45 minutes during which they briefed about their five-day visit to Sri Lanka from April 16 to April 21 and the talks they held with the top leadership besides interaction with the ethnic Tamils there.
At the outset, Swaraj told Singh that the umbrella Tamil grouping of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had told the delegation that they want "dignified rights and living conditions" for the minority community in a "unified" Sri Lanka.
Submitting a report that has in detail their conclusions about the visit, Swaraj told Singh that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapksa needed to persuade the TNA to join a Select Parliamentary Committee to find a solution to "genuine" political grievances of Tamils.
Singh spoke to every member of the delegation and listened to their views and suggestions, sources said about the meeting during which External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Minister of State in PMO V Narayanasamy were present.
"The Prime Minister said the visit was timely and came at a crucial period of the bilateral ties," Congress MP from Tamil Nadu Manicka Tagore, who was part of the delegation, told PTI.
Singh told the delegation that India was closely working with Sri Lanka and "will stand solidly behind the Tamils," Tagore said. (MORE)
