Tag: Dual citizenship

Dual citizenship not permitted under Constitution, says Centre

The Central government made it clear in Parliament that dual citizenship “is not permitted” under the Constitution and the Citizenship Act, 1955. This assumes relevance in the context of the request made by Governor of Tamilnadu , in his address to the Assembly, for the granting of dual citizenship to Sri Lankan refugees living in Tamil Nadu. In various memoranda submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since mid-2016, successive Chief Ministers, including the current one, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, have made a reference to the demand. The Tamil nadu government also informed that under the 1964 Sirimavo–Shastri Agreement and the 1974 Sirimavo-Indira Gandhi Agreement, 6 lakh Indian Origin Tamils (IOT) along with natural increase would be given Indian citizenship, while Sri Lanka would absorb 3.75 lakh persons.

Governor’s reference to ‘dual citizenship’ triggers a debate

The Tamilnadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit’s address to the Assembly in which he advocated dual citizenship for Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka living in Tamil Nadu, has triggered a debate. It is for the first time that the matter was included in the Governor’s address, by former chief Minister Jayalalithaa in April 2016 during her campaign for the Assembly election.