The Tamil Nadu state assembly on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution to ask the centre to sever ties with Sri Lanka and stop treating it as a friendly country.
Moved by State Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the resolution demands the centre to seek a referendum for a separate Eelam for Tamils in Sri Lanka and abroad. It also urges the government to cut off economic ties with the neighbouring country till the alleged atrocities against Tamils in the island country is stopped and the people responsible for the war crimes face an international probe.
Meanwhile, the CM has requested students across the state to end the protests and resume classes.
The Tamil Nadu government last week shut down as many as 525 engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University due to the anti-Sri Lanka protests across the state.
Students from various parts of the state have been holding protests for the last few weeks, demanding several measures against Sri Lanka, including an independent probe on human rights violations against Tamils and moving the International Court of Justice.
Jayalalithaa has also written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, informing the centre that the state government will not allow Indian Premier League (IPL) matches involving Sri Lankans to be played in the state as their participation could hurt the sentiments of the Tamilians. The IPL governing body has now advised the franchises not to field Sri Lankan players in the matches.
India voted against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva last week, but Tamil Nadu is still not happy with the way India handled it. India did not move any amendments to the resolution. It also did not seek an international inquiry against Sri Lanka, even after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) demanded a probe and the inclusion of the terms "Eelam" and "genocide" in the UN resolution.
The M Karunanidhi-led DMK party withdrew support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition over its failure to amend the UN resolution against Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes committed against the Tamils.
