CHENNAI: Expressing anguish over the arrest of 37 Tamil Nadu fishermen and confiscation of their boats on September 21, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday wrote another letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar seeking firm measures to prevent Sri Lanka from taking such action.
He urged the centre to prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to stop levying hefty fines on the fishermen and provide them legal assistance.
“As I have been pointing out, such instances of arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen while fishing in their traditional fishing waters have been on the rise. Besides this, the Sri Lankan courts are levying penalties beyond these fishermen’s means. Strong measures must be taken to prevent the Sri Lankan authorities from apprehending fishermen and their fishing boats,” Stalin wrote in the letter.
Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, in a statement, expressed serious concern over the arrest of the fishers from the Poompuhar area in Tamil Nadu by the Lankan Navy. In a post on his X handle, Palaniswami said following the arrest of 37 fishermen, fishermen have been staging protests in Poompuhar harbour.
“Chief Minister MK Stalin acts quickly when he or his family needs something. However, the DMK government cannot do the same to resolve the fishermen issue. Instead, the CM stops just by writing letters to the GOI. Where have all the 40 MPs gone?” Palaniswami said.