CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss urged the government to take steps to release the 32 fishermen arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy on Thursday. In a statement, Anbumani said that the Sri Lankan Navy arrested the fishermen, who ventured into sea from Pamban and their 4 boats have been seized.

“Lanka released 13 fishermen, but on the day within a few hours, 32 fishermen have been arrested. In the last 50 days, as many as 109 fishermen have been arrested by Sri Lanka, but only 52 fishermen were released,” he said.

Anbumani added that the Sri Lankan court has also imposed Rs 40 lakh penalty each against three fishermen. “If they fail to pay the penalty, they will be locked up for a year. The actions of Sri Lanka are against international laws. The Indian government should teach a lesson to Sri Lanka,” he urged.

In another statement, he said that the state has failed to implement an order of the HC. “The court ordered the government to take a decision on providing equal pay to the state doctors on a par with central doctors within 6 months. But, the state failed to take any decision,” he added.