A day after reminding the Union Government about it’s obligation to protect the States from external aggressions and internal disturbances, J Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, has sent a Mayday message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the State of despondency among the fishermen in the State due to “frequent attacks” on them by the Sri lankan Navy.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister, Jayalalithaa blamed the Sri lankan Government for abducting fishermen from the State and seizure of their boats despite her previous letters highlighting the plight of the poor fishermen who fish in their “traditional waters” in the Palk Bay. The latest letter, excerpts of which were released to the media on Sunday, is the fallout of the arrest of four fishermen and their mechanised boat last Friday.
“The unabated spree of apprehensions of Tamil Nadu fishermen constrains me to write once again to bring to your notice an incident in which four Tamil Nadu fishermen, along with their motorised fishing boat, who set out for fishing from Pamban fishing base of Ramanathapuram district, have been apprehended by the Sri lankan Navy in the early hours of July 15, 2016 and taken to Thalaimannar, Sri lanka,” Jayalalithaa has said in the letter.
She said with the arrest of four fishermen on Friday, the number of fishermen in Sri lankan custody and the number of fishing boats seized by the Sl Navy have shot up to 77 and 102 fishing boats respectively. Jayalalithaa pointed out that the position of the International Maritime Boundary line itself was sub-judice and she herself has challenged the constitutional validity of the 1974 ceding the Kachatheevu islet to the Island Nation.
“The Sri lankan strategy of not releasing the boats of our fishermen is causing great frustration amongst the fishermen of Tamil Nadu. Without their livelihood base, these fishermen are in a state of despondency. I urge you to take up this matter with the highest authorities of the Sri lankan Government through our High Commission in Sri lanka and ensure the immediate release of the precariously berthed boats which continue to suffer great damage,” said Jayalalithaa.
Interestingly, in her address to the Inter-State Council held at New Delhi on Saturday, Jayalalithaa had reminded the PM and other CMs about the recommendations made by the Punchchi Commission, which had recommended that the Centre had an obligation to protect the States from external aggression and internal disturbances. “These recommendations are timely re-iterations of the existing Constitutional framework, particularly in the light of the continuing attacks on and apprehensions of poor Indian fishermen fishing in their traditional fishing waters in the Palk Bay by the Sri lankan Navy. This is one instance in which the Government needs to do more to protect the interests of a vulnerable group of poor fishermen from Tamil Nadu,” said Jayalalithaa in her Inter State Council speech which was read out by TN Minister for Finance O Paneerselvam in her absence.