Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin drew the immediate attention of Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to the unprecedented increase in instances of apprehension of fishermen from Tamil Nadu by Sri Lankan authorities in the recent weeks and urged him to take necessary concrete steps to find a lasting solution to the vexatious issue and uphold the traditional rights of the fishermen.
In a letter to Jaishankar on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said the Sri Lankan Navy had apprehended 25 fishermen along with two motorised country crafts bearing Registration numbers IND-TN-10-MO-1379 and IND-TN-09-MO-2327 and two unregistered fishing boats on July 1.
‘In the letter dated 27.06.2024, you have mentioned that the genesis of this issue goes back to 1974 following an understanding between the then Union Government and the State Government,’ Stalin said adding that he would like to point out that the DMK led State Government opposed the Katchatheevu Agreement tooth and nail and its opposition to the same was made clear both in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the Parliament.
The fact that the State Government was not properly consulted in this regard was well known and it was the Union Government that ceded the island to Sri Lanka completely, jeopardising and depriving the rights and interests of Indian Fishermen, he said.
‘My leader and then DMK President Kalaignar Karunanidhi had even filed a sworn-in affidavit before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and categorically stated that “When the entire exercise undertaken by Government are devoid of constitutionality, it cannot be said the sovereignty of Katchatheevu island is a settled matter,” the letter said.
Despite being in power for the third consecutive term, the BJP led government was not able to find a tangible and meaningful effort to retrieve the island except for using the issue as an election time rhetoric, he said
‘The need of the hour is to ease the problems faced by the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and to find a lasting solution to this festering problem,’ Stalin said.
