Chennai, February 15 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revoke previous administrative instructions that "block" the consideration of citizenship applications of Sri Lankan Tamils living in the state.
He emphasized that more than 40 per cent of Sri Lankan Tamils currently living in Tamil Nadu were born on Indian soil.
Stalin requested the PM to provide administrative waivers for passport and visa requirements when Sri Lankan Tamils apply for citizenship using documents verified by the Tamil Nadu government.
Another demand the CM raised with Modi was delegating appropriate powers to designated district-level authorities for streamlined processing.
In his letter to the PM, Stalin stated that the administrative instructions issued in 1986 have imposed restrictions on processing citizenship applications from Sri Lankan Tamils and act as a barrier to long-term legal solutions for them.
Since 1983, successive Governments of Tamil Nadu, with the support and concurrence of the Centre, have provided shelter, subsistence support, education, and healthcare to Sri Lankan Tamils who fled ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
"Today, approximately 89,000 individuals continue to reside in Tamil Nadu – a significant proportion of whom have lived in India for more than 30 years, and nearly 40 percent of whom were born on Indian soil," he said.
While Tamil Nadu has fulfilled its humanitarian responsibilities with commitment and compassion, these individuals remain in a state of prolonged legal uncertainty.
"Despite their decades-long residence and integration into the social fabric, many continue to lack access to durable legal solutions such as citizenship or long-term visa status," the CM noted.