Chief Minister MK Stalin stated on Friday that the ongoing attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy on Indian fishermen indicated the Union administration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ‘weak’ when speaking to a conference of fishermen in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu.
‘Ever since the BJP government came to power in 2014, the problems faced by fishermen have gone up. More boats are being seized by Sri Lanka now. Even if they release the fishermen, they don’t release the boats,’ he said.
‘Before the 2014 elections, the BJP promised that if they came to power, they would retrieve Katchatheevu. Has this been done in the last nine years?’ he asked.
He reaffirmed that the only long-term solution to the problem facing fisherman was the recovery of Katchatheevu, an island that had been voluntarily given to Sri Lanka in 1974.
The late chief minister M. Karunanidhi, who is also the president of the ruling DMK, reportedly supplied a report stating that Katchatheevu is an Indian territory, according to Stalin.
Days after Prime Minister Modi claimed that the Indira Gandhi administration was responsible for handing over the island to Sri Lanka in 1974, the Chief Minister made reference to the transfer of the territory.
Additionally, according to PM Modi, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu frequently writes to him pleading for him to take back the island.
’48 instances of attacks against fishermen have taken place since 2020. 619 of them were arrested. 83 boats were seized. In this year alone, 74 fishermen were arrested. All this shows that the Modi government is weak,’ he said.
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