The Indian government plans to send an all-party delegation to Sri Lanka next month to observe the progress of the resettlement and rehabilitation of the Tamils in the Northern Province.

The delegation will be led by the leader of opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Lok Sabha of the Indian parliament, Sushma Swaraj.

The visit is tentatively scheduled to take place from April 16 to 21, PTI reported.

The BJP has chosen Prahlad Joshi from Lok Sabha and M Venkaiah Naidu from Rajya Sabha as its representatives in the delegation.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is reportedly finalizing the details of the visit, including the list of MPs who will be part of the delegation.

Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha S S Ahluwalia had first suggested in December in Parliament to send an all-party delegation to Sri Lanka to learn about the condition of Tamils after the Sri Lankan government liberated the North from the Tamil Tiger terrorist control in May 2009.

India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had welcomed the suggestion in the Rajya Sabha and later endorsed the idea in the Lok Sabha.

The delegation was to leave on February 11 but due to Assembly elections in five states and other factors, the trip was postponed.