CM urges Modi for strong diplomatic stand on fishing row

In a letter to Modi, he referred to Sunday’s arrest of five fishermen from Mandapam, near Rameswaram, and seizure of their mechanised boat and said such repeated detentions created an “unrest among the fishermen community”.  

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy recalled that the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa had written to the Prime Minister multiple times over the repeated instances of abduction and apprehension of innocent fishermen from the state. He requested the prime minister to “undertake a strong diplomatic” stand, so as to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. 

The Chief Minister said his government reaffirmed its commitment to find a pragmatic working solution to the issue and added that it had initiated several measures with the Centre’s support. This necessitated an “urgent intervention from the highest level of the Sri Lankan administration”, he said.  

The Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister to direct the External Affairs Ministry to secure the immediate release of 16 fishermen, including the five who were arrested on Sunday, besides setting free 136 fishing boats “without any further delay”. 

This is the second letter written by the Chief Minister to Narendra Modi on the issue in the last one week. On June 13, the Chief Minister had sought the Prime Minister’s intervention in getting back all the 135 fishing boats, that were impounded by Sri Lanka over a period of time, saying the fishermen had been deprived of their livelihood. He had also sought steps for the release of the detained fishermen.