Chennai, Feb. 18 -- Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson T K S Elangovan on Wednesday backed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking clarity on granting Indian citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamils residing in the state.

Speaking to ANI, Elangovan said the issue has historical and legal dimensions, recalling the 1964 Sirima-Shastri Agreement signed between India and Sri Lanka during the tenure of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Under the pact, a section of Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka were to be repatriated to India and granted citizenship.

However, he noted that after the 1983 crisis in Sri Lanka, India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Protocol, which has complicated ...