MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Wednesday said he had a difference of opinion on the issue of granting dual citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India. He contended that citizenship could be granted to those who wanted to stay back and in the case of others steps, should be taken to ensure their return to their native soil.
“If they feel that they want to live in the land [Sri Lanka] in which they lived for hundreds of years they should be allowed to go back,” he said during his routine New Year interaction with media persons.
Asked about the opinion that if ethnic Tamils were not allowed to return to their land, their population in Sri Lanka would come down drastically, Mr Vaiko reiterated he was in favour of sending them to their country. “But those who want to live in India because they have lived here for so many years, they should be granted citizenship,” he said.
Recalling the resolution adopted by Germany and the US Senate describing the killing of Armenians as “genocide” Mr. Vaiko said Sri Lankan Tamils would also get justice one day and he had already raised the issue in Brussels.
“Sinhalese settled in Tamil areas should be evacuated to pave way for the return of Tamils. Refugees all over the world always have the aspiration to return to their own soil. Sri Lankan Tamils, even though living here, will have the desire to return and we should not come in their way. But it may not happen now since the country is ruled by Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Already Hindu temples have been destroyed to build Buddhist temples,” he said.
Asked why the BJP government that had included the Christians, had excluded the Muslims in Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Mr. Vaiko said the Act was shaped by the RSS’ hatred for the Muslims since the days of Partition. He felt that it was not easy to abrogate the CAA since it was enacted by a two-thirds majority in Parliament even though political parties that had supported it now had reservations about it.
“It is a fascist government. Even during the Emergency, Indira Gandhi did not seek to implement anything in such a hurry. The Centre is implementing its hidden agendas openly to divert the people’s attention from unemployment, the economic crisis and poor growth of the GDP,” he alleged.
Mr. Vaiko, who moved a private bill in Parliament against the prevalence of the Concurrent List, said that if the government wanted to retain it, it should transfer residuary powers to the States. “Otherwise we should have only the Central and State Lists,” he said.
