AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa Saturday wondered about the status of Rs.500 crore given by India for resettling Sri Lankan Tamils and listed out the steps needed to ease the sufferings of the minority community in the island nation.
In a statement issued here, Jayalalithaa said: ‘The Indian government has announced payment of Rs.1,000 crore for construction of 50,000 houses for Sri Lankan Tamils. Has the Indian government got an account of the manner in which the Rs.500 crore that was released earlier was spent on resettlement of the Tamils in Sri Lanka?’
According to her, the Indian and the Tamil Nadu governments must ensure that the island nation takes immediate steps for resettling 100,000 Sri Lankan Tamils affected by the internal conflict, rebuilding of schools and places of worship.
The Sri Lankan government should also conduct counselling sessions for women affected by the conflict, she said.
Citing the earlier assurance given by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to a visiting Indian parliamentary delegation that the resettlement of Tamils will be completed by the end of 2009 and the one given recently to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that 47,000 Tamils will be resettled this year, Jayalalithaa charged that no action was being taken on such statements.
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