Palaniswami welcomes Union govt.’s decision exempting Sri Lankan Tamils from penal provisions

The AIADMK welcomed the Union government’s decision to exempt Sri Lankan Tamil nationals, who came to India before January 9, 2015, from penal provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, if found to be without valid passports, travel documents, or visa, the party’s general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Thursday (September 4, 2025).

Mr. Palaniswami thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the same, on behalf of the AIADMK, people of Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lankan Tamils. Granting due recognition to them has been a long-standing demand of the AIADMK, he said, and added that on his directives, his party members have consistently raised this demand in Parliament.

“This announcement marks the first step towards providing legal recognition to Sri Lankan Tamils, and @AIADMKOfficial wholeheartedly welcomes it,” Mr. Palaniswami said. “Our umbilical-cord relatives — the Sri Lankan Tamils — came to Tamil Nadu bearing the scars of war, economic hardships, and the unforgivable betrayal of the DMK-Congress alliance that led to genocide.”

Mr. Palaniswami said it gave him immense happiness that the Union government has permitted Sri Lankan Tamils, who migrated to India before January 9, 2015, and registered as refugees, to legally stay in the country.