New Delhi, Apr 29 - Congress MPs, who were part of the delegation that visited Sri Lanka recently, have demanded India's intervention in ensuring political empowerment of minority Tamils by implementing the historic 13th Amendment, holding talks with various political parties there.

Four Congress MPs from Tamil Nadu also asked India to demand from Sri Lanka urgent steps to implement recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) with a "clear time-bound programme".

Rajya Sabha member E M Sudarshana Natchiappan, Lok Sabha members M Krishnasamy, N S V Chithan and Manicka Tagore made these demands in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after they returned last week.

"The political empowerment through implementation of 13th Amendment of the Constitution of Sri Lanka made on Rajiv Gandhi's effort, by holding talks with TNA and other Tamil political parties are in urgency to create the confidence of the Tamils to return to motherland," they said in the letter.

13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution envisages devolution of powers to Tamil-dominated northern and eastern provinces.

They also said Sri Lanka should take urgent steps for implementation of LLRC recommendations with clear time bound programme.

"The Sri Lanka government should send message to the world that normalcy is restored by replacing Army by Police," the MPs said.

They also said displaced Tamil civilians and refugees in India should be enabled to get back their houses and lands left in Sri Lanka by sending a team of survey and settlement officials from India and identify the properties and publish for claim from the concerned refugees. PTI