NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Salman Khurshid will head the Indian delegation at the CHOGM to be held in Sri Lanka next week with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deciding against undertaking the visit in view of the opposition by parties in Tamil Nadu as well as a section in Congress.

The decision on level of Indian representation and Singh skipping the meet will be communicated to the Lankan government by Sunday, sources said.

“The Prime Minister is likely to write to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa by Sunday regarding his decision,” government sources said.

However, there was no official announcement over Singh’s decision to skip the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit on Nov. 15-16.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu and several other outfits have opposed India’s participation at any level in the CHOGM alleging that the Sri Lankan government had committed gross violation of human rights and had no plans to devolve powers to the ethnic Tamils.

However, Khurshid has been favoring Singh’s presence in the CHOGM scheduled on Nov. 15, maintaining that it was vital as it will reflect India’s interests. According to MEA, it is also paramount to the nation’s strategic and security interests.

Asked if there was a possibility of Vice-President Hamid Ansari representing India at the CHOGM if Singh decides not to go, MEA spokesperson did not give a direct reply.

He, however, said in 10 summit level meetings since 1993, the Prime Minister represented India five times while on four occasions, ministers had headed the Indian delegation. There was one instance of the Vice President representing India.

“So what you can summarize from this is that what we have followed in terms of participation in the CHOGM is an approach of something akin to horses for courses.

“We focused on what is required for our national interest, our foreign policy priorities and our international obligations. Taking those into account we have our delegations led by different people,” he said.

The foreign ministry spokesman added New Delhi was “not fully satisfied” with progress on Sri Lanka’s pledge to implement a 1987 constitutional amendment to give regional autonomy to the island’s Tamil minority.

The pressure on Singh to avoid the summit comes after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged his counterparts in April to follow him in boycotting CHOGM.

Indian Tamil political parties as well as the main opposition party, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, have also urged Singh not to attend the meeting.

Pawan Kapoor, another senior foreign ministry official, said economic matters would be at the center of the Colombo talks.

“The Sri Lankans have made it clear they want the focus back on development and on climate-vulnerable small states to access financing and solutions on debt challenges of small states,” Kapoor said.