A six member BJP-led delegation arrived in Colombo on Tuesday. The delegation was led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
The five-day visit was organised by the New Delhi-based India Foundation and Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies in Colombo and the delegates will meet senior leaders in Sri Lanka across political parties.
It is learnt that the members are expected to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
On Wednesday, the team left for Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka, for discussions with politicians and civil society members there. The delegation will also meet the Governor of the Northern Province, to discuss issues such as political devolution and the Northern Provincial Council elections to be held in September.
The delegation includes Suresh Prabhu (Shiv Sena), Ram Madhav (RSS), journalist and political commentator Swapan Dasgupta, former IFS officer Vivek Katju and human rights activist Monika Arora.
This visit comes two months after an Indian parliamentary delegation visited Sri Lanka and held talks with different groups, as part of a visit organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Though not a government delegation, this group’s visit is watched keenly by New Delhi, for the Opposition-led team will be meeting all the top leaders of Sri Lanka, said an official of the Ministry of External Affairs.
