Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K. Selvaperunthagai led the protest by the party in front of the Chennai Collectorate on Wednesday against the Centre for not doing enough to stop frequent attacks on and arrest of Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Fisherfolks from Thanngachimadam and Rameswaram, along with their families, recently sat on a relay hunger fast in protest against arrests by Sri Lankan Navy in Rameswaram on February 24. The protest was organised weeks after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in early February requesting him to take diplomatic steps to secure the release of Tamil fishermen who were arrested by Sri Lankan authorities and said that there were six incidents in which 88 fishermen and 12 boats had been apprehended.
Speaking at the protest, Mr. Selvaperunthagai said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in 2014 that there would not be a single fisherman death if he came to power.
“They are fooling tribals, Dalits, women, and fisherfolk. Mr. Modi had said India did not have a ‘manly’ Prime Minister. But what had happened to Fernando of Thangachimadam, and Shanmugam of Tharangambadi. More than 400 boats have been seized and thousands of fishermen have been attacked so far. The time has come to remove the BJP government,” he said.
He said the Prime Minister was a mute spectator when fishermen were being attacked by neighbouring countries. The Centre’s foreign policy had failed. Other countries had a great respect for India when Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh were the Prime Ministers. Now, even small countries, like Nepal, were mocking at India, he said.
Former TNCC president K.V. Thangkabalu, TNCC vice-president A. Gopanna, Tamil Nadu Mahila Congress president A. Sudha, minority cell head Aslam Basha, Velachery MLA J.M.H. Aassan Maulaana and others took part at the protest.
