Stalin urges Modi to grant legal status to Lankan Tamils in India
Stalin urges Modi to grant legal status to Lankan Tamils in India
Chennai Chief Minister seeks visa-free long-term stays and streamlined citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamils, calling for executive clarity on their status.
Chennai's Chief Minister MK Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the Union government to provide legal status to registered Sri Lankan Tamil nationals sheltered in India up to January 9, 2015. He argues that those living in India under state-sanctioned arrangements deserve a humanitarian pathway to citizenship or long-term residency, and calls for an executive clarification that waives passport and visa requirements for such applications, based on verified identity documents issued by the Tamil Nadu government. He also asks for powers to be delegated to designated district authorities to speed up processing. These Sri Lankan Tamils have lived in India with dignity, discipline and deep cultural affinity for more than four decades, Stalin notes, and their continued classification as irregular does not reflect the humanitarian context of their entry or the sanctioned nature of their stay.
