Grant Indian citizenship to Sri Lankan refugees: TN governor

The Tamil Nadu government today urged the central government of India to grant Indian citizenship to the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in the country.  

Delivering his customary address to the newly constituted 16th Legislative Assembly, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit also urged the Union Government to advise the Sri Lankan government to ensure that Tamils have equal civil and political rights. 

“The Tamil Nadu government will urge the Union government to make necessary laws and amendments to grant Indian citizenship to Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka,” the governor said.

He added that the state would take up with the Centre, “retrieval” of Katchatheevu (an islet, from Sri Lanka) and a permanent solution that would prevent “assault, arrest and even loss of lives of fishermen from Tamil Nadu at the hands of the Sri Lankan Navy.”

-Agencies