AIADMK and DMK members clashed with each other in the Rajya Sabha on Friday over the issue of arrest of Tamil fishermen by Sri lankan Navy. The DMK and the left parties also sought a response from the Government over the matter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the house when the issue was raised during Zero Hour.
Raising the issue, T Siva (DMK) charged the Government with being insensitive to the plight of Tamil fishermen despite the issue raised in Parliament several times. The DMK leader said he was highlighting the matter in the House for the second time within 15 days as 40 fishermen of Tamil Nadu were arrested by Sri lankan Navy in November and 38 are languishing in jails there. He also said such incidents had become a regular feature now and alleged that be it UPA or NDA, they are “totally neglecting” Tamil Nadu.
AIADMK leader A Navneethakrishnan said Tamil fishermen were treated as “slaves” in Sri lanka. He, however, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha for release of five Tamil fishermen from Sri lanka, who were earlier awarded death sentence by the High Court of that country.
Members of DMK and AIADMK then clashed over certain remarks by a DMK member, which could not be heard in the din. AIADMK members including V Maitreyan were seen rushing towards the seats of DMK members. The House then witnessed sharp exchanges between the two members of two parties.
In an effort to bring down temperatures, Minister for Telecom Ravishankar Prasad tried to mollify them. While Siva blamed the AIADMK members for coming to the DMK benches, members from AIADMK said one of the DMK members “threatened” them. Prasad said the members should maintain decorum and not use unparliamentary language.
D Raja (CPI) said the issue was raised in the presence of the Prime Minister and he should have responded. Prasad said the Government “completely shares” the concerns of the members and will do everything for the security of the Tamil fishermen.