P. K. Balachandran
Promises made in the Presidential election manifestos are unlikely to be implemented given past experience and also in the context of current priorities.
The minority Tamils of Sri Lanka have been promised devolution of power since the India-Sri Lanka Accord was signed in 1987. The J.R. Jayewardene government even got the 13 th. Amendment (13A) of the constitution passed by an overwhelming majority in parliament.
But till date, the 13A has not been implemented in full with devolution of the powers over the police and State land. As of now, what goes as devolution is only a shell comprising an elected Provincial Council and a Board of Ministers. Moreover, over the years, the Centre has seized powers that had been devolved using the Concurrent List in the 13A.
But come national elections, whether Presidential or Parliamentary, political parties in the fray make promises to the Tamils about devolving power to the provinces either in the form of a fully implemented 13A or in the form of an entirely new constitution drafted as per a consensus evolved in parliament.
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