Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday said that the AIADMK government would continue to press for dual citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India.
Asked by journalists about the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the State, Mr. Palaniswami said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had made it clear that no Indian citizen, irrespective of their religion, would be affected by the legislation.
On Tamils’ exclusion
On the CAA excluding from its ambit the Sri Lankan Tamils, Mr. Palaniswami said, “When Jayalalithaa met the Prime Minister after the 2016 Assembly elections, she demanded that the Sri Lankan Tamils be given dual citizenship. After her death, I reiterated that demand with the Prime Minister. When the Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the Parliamentarian [S.R. Balasubramoniyan], who spoke on behalf of the AIADMK, had made the demand clear. He demanded that Sri Lankan Tamil refugees here must be given dual citizenship.” (Incidentally, India does not allow its citizens to hold dual citizenship.)
Referring to DMK leader M.K. Stalin’s charge that the AIADMK government had betrayed Sri Lankan Tamils, he charged that on the contrary, the DMK was responsible for the annihilation of ethnic Tamils in the island nation.
In 2009, DMK leader M. Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister, and his party was sharing power at the centre.
“War was happening in Sri Lanka then, and Karunanidhi went on a fast here (Chennai), demanding to end the war in Sri Lanka. The hunger strike ended in an hour, and Karunanidhi addressed mediapersons following it. He said the war had come to an end in Sri Lanka. Trusting his words, Tamils, who were hiding in bunkers, came out and danced in the streets. Using this opportunity, about 1.5 lakh Tamils were shot and killed by the Sri Lankan Army,” the Chief Minister charged.
The DMK is deliberately enacting a drama as if they are doing good for the Sri Lankan Tamils, he said.
“For them being in power was important. Karunanidhi wanted his son and family members to be in power,” he alleged.
He added that the DMK was in power at the Centre for 13 years, and asked why they didn’t take steps for granting Indian citizenship to the Sri Lankan Tamils.
Mr. Palaniswami said while the Centre provided only ₹400 per month for refugees, Jayalalithaa had increased it to ₹1,000.
