Representatives of all political parties should be included in the MPs delegation to study the plight of the displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka, the State general secretary of the Communist Party of India–Marxist (CPI-M), N. Varadarajan said.
The delegation announced on Friday, comprised only the MPs of the ruling coalition – DMK, Congress and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi. In a Parliamentary democracy, due importance should be accorded to the opposition as well.
Parliamentary democracy will not flourish if the opposition is ignored. The Centre and the DMK leadership should take the initiative to include representatives of the opposition parties too in the delegation, Mr. Varadarajan said, while speaking at a demonstration organised by the party in the city on Friday, demanding the intervention of the Central government to protect the interest of the Lankan Tamils. Party cadres from seven central districts participated.
Mr. Varadarajan claimed that the displayed Tamils were put to untold hardship in the island nation. They are living under unhygienic conditions in the camps lacking basic facilities.
Repeated attacks on the Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy was a matter of serious concern. It is a question of livelihood for our fishermen and keeping this in mind, the Centre and the State governments should take initiatives to protect their lives and properties besides their fishing rights.
Referring to the DMK’s demand to accord permanent resident status to the Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Varadharajan said a CPI(M) team had planned to visit all the refugee camps in the State to ascertain the views of the inmates on the DMK’s demand.
The party would continue its agitation in a democratic manner till the Lankan issue was resolved amicably. W.R. Varadarajan, central committee member, MLAs Bala Bharathy and V. Marimuthu and S. Sridhar, the party’s Tiruchi district secretary spoke on the occasion.
