Tamil Nadu Assembly passes resolution urging Centre to allow aid from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka

The Tamil Nadu Assembly, on Friday, passed a unanimous resolution urging the Government of India to permit the state to send humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, which has been reeling under a constantly worsening economic crisis. This latest resolution comes after Stalin's earlier requests to the Indian Government to permit Tamil Nadu to send aid to only Sri Lankan Tamils.

Addressing the legislators, Chief Minister Stalin said that his government's decision to send food grains, essential drugs etc. is only a first step. He also added that the Tamil Nadu Government is prepared to offer more help, as maybe required by the people of Sri Lanka.

Stalin expressed that the Tamil Nadu government is willing to accept the donations from the people of Tamil Nadu and the commercial establishments in the state and would facilitate the transfer of this donation to Sri Lanka, via the Indian government.

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In a gesture of political courtesy, Stalin thanked AIADMK Coordinator and Opposition leader O. Panneerselvam for having announced that he was donating Rs.50lakhs to Sri Lanka, from his personal funds. Appreciating Panneerselvam, Stalin said that this act of kindness was worth emulating.

Stalin has been emphasizing the issue of sending aid to Sri Lanka during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier this month and also ubsequent communications with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. It is noteworthy that Tamil Nadu cannot directly send aid to Sri Lanka. Instead, the aid has to be routed via the Indian Government and the country's High Commission in the island nation.

Earlier, Stalin had mentioned only about sending aid to Lankan Tamils living in the Northern and Eastern parts of the island nation and also Colombo. However, this move was met with considerable backlash among sections of Lankan Tamils. They even spoke to media in Sri Lanka and said that they (Tamil Community) alone did not require aid, at a time when the entire country was suffering. They had made their stance clear that they would accept aid only if it were meant for all the people of Sri Lanka.

Since the last week of March 2022, nearly 60 Lankan Tamils fled their home country to reach Indian shores and seek refuge in Tamil Nadu. Arriving in batches, these individuals (including pregnant women, children and elderly) had taken the arduous boat ride from the northern and eastern parts to Sri Lanka, to alight on Indian territory in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram district, fleeing the severe economic crisis back at home.

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The economic crisis that has devastated the island nation has taken a severe toll on daily wage earners and those from the lesser-fortunate sections of society, whose wages have been stagnant amid skyrocketing prices.

The worst-ever crisis faced by the island nation is primarily caused by a shortage of foreign currency to import essential commodities. The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns, over-dependency revenue from tourism, export of tea, spices and other consumables, were contributing factors to the downfall. Angry and distraught citizens are out in protest against the government's handling of the debt-ridden economy.