Countering Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s charge that the AIADMK Government had not implemented any welfare measure for Sri Lankan Tamils in the State, Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday hit out at the ruling DMK.
In a statement, Mr. Palaniswami said former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran had stood by the Sri Lankan Tamils in the 1980s. “At the same time, Tamils globally know who created TESO and TELO and brought a divide among the Sri Lankan Tamils and used them for political means,” he said.
No amount of false claims can eclipse the various measures taken by the AIADMK Governments under MGR and former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils, he said.
Alleging that former DMK leader and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had undertaken a “seven-hour fasting drama” during the Eelam war in 2009, he said, “It is hard to forget that many innocent Sri Lankan Tamils were killed in the bombardment by the Sri Lankan military after they came out of the bunkers on the statement made by Karunanidhi that the Sri Lankan military had announced a ceasefire.”
He said during the AIADMK regime, various welfare measures for the Eelam Tamil refugees were undertaken through the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non Resident Tamils, since June 2011. Besides ensuring basic amenities in the rehabilitation camps and financial aid for them, essential commodities from PDS shops were also being given. Free education and free laptops were given to the Sri Lankan Tamils. Financial aid under various social security schemes were also extended to them, he said.
He said when he was the Chief Minister, he had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to seek dual citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India. “The AIADMK was never ‘double-faced’ like the DMK,” he said.
