Tag: Sirimavo–Shastri Agreement

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.