Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate “calibrated action” to end attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy on Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay.
In a letter to Modi, the text of which was released to the media Sunday, Jayalalithaa said: “May I also request you to proactively initiate an appropriate and calibrated set of actions that will bring about a permanent end to the perennial problem that plagues the livelihood of lakhs of Tamil Nadu fishermen who fish in their traditional fishing grounds in the Palk Bay, facing the daily threat of attack and abduction at the hands of the Sri Lankan Navy?”
On Sunday morning, 33 Indian fishermen and their seven boats were apprehended by the Lankan navy.
Such an action would in “sharp contrast to the passive and immobile policy paralysis that characterised the approach of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government for several years”, she said.
Jayalalithaa also told Modi that there is high expectation in the state that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government would act decisively on this sensitive issue.
She urged Modi to direct the ministry of external affairs to take up the issue with the Sri Lankan government in a decisive manner to secure the release of 33 fishermen and their seven boats.
“This resumption of abductions and detentions has sent shock waves throughout the fishermen community in Tamil Nadu. There was an expectation that, with the change of government at the Centre, there would be a reset in the relations with Sri Lanka and such attacks and apprehensions would cease,” she said.
Referring to the bilateral fishermen-level talks held this year, Jayalalithaa termed the Sri Lankan stand as obdurate.