Amid CAA debate, govt tells House 97% of displaced Tamils resettled in Lanka

NEW DELHI: At a time when their “exclusion” from the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has been raised by opposition parties, the government has said 97% of internally displaced persons (IDP), primarily Tamils, had been resettled in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.
Some 883,185 IDPs who were displaced in the three-decade internal conflict had been resettled, leaving around 36,000 people who needed to be catered to, the ministry of external affairs, quoting Sri Lankan government statistics, told DMK MP from Chennai South Sumathy Thamizhachi in the winter session.
Responding to a question on the number of IDPs and the assistance given to them by India, the government detailed various measures, including Rs 1,372 crore in grants for construction of 50,000 houses, as Indian help to Tamils affected by the prolonged civil war in Sri Lanka.
The figures indicate that there may be no pressing need for Tamils from Sri Lanka to seek citizenship since they have been resettled in large numbers as against non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, many of whom lack the option of returning to their countries due to fear of religious persecution. India has provided citizenship to more than 4.5 lakh Tamils from Sri Lanka between 1964 and 2008.
Critics of CAA have argued that around 1 lakh displaced persons in camps in India have been unfairly left out of the law’s ambit. Senior ministers like Nirmala Sitharaman have said not being eligible under CAA does not mean they will be debarred from Indian citizenship. She pointed out the facility offered to Sri Lankan Tamils earlier was not at that point extended to minorities from other nations. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act covers Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains from designated nations.
In its reply in Parliament, the government said Indian projects included family packs, roofing sheets, cement bags, bicycles, tractors, seeds, boats and fishing nets. “Of 50,000 houses committed, 46,000 housing units were meant for IDPs in northern and eastern provinces and they have been completed and handed over to beneficiaries,” the government said.
Other development works included classrooms in 27 schools, 3,000 rainwater harvesting units and the Palaly airport and hospital buildings in Batticaloa in the eastern province. Assistance is also being provided to colleges and for sanitation. Railway lines between north and south are being completed under Indian line of credit.