BJP asks Govt. to ensure early rehabilitation of Tamils in Sri Lanka

New Delhi, Nov. 14 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday asked the Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to ask the Sri Lanka Government during his scheduled visit for early rehabilitation of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

"We have got every responsibility to see that we take care about the welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamil brothers because there is a sentiment attached too. And I hope that the Finance Minister during his visit to Sri Lanka will be able to prevail upon Sri Lanka President and the government to see that the people are rehabilitated at the earliest," Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said.

India, last month, offered Sri Lanka 100 million dollars to help war refugees return home and rebuild the country's ravaged north.

Morover, the government is faced with pressure to protect Sri Lankan Tamils, linked to about 60 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu.

Some 260,000 Tamil refugees, who fled fighting in the waning months of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam led by V.Prabhakaran, are now being held in military-run camps.

Western countries, India and the United Nations are pressing the Sri Lankan government to send them home. ri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has claimed that 70-80 percent of the refugees would be resettled by January. (ANI)