“PM should intervene in not only securing the release of the jailed fishers but also prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to cease such acts once and for all,” Mr. Narayanasamy said.
Former Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on December 21 urged for the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in securing the immediate release of the 55 Indian fishermen “wrongfully incarcerated” by Sri Lankan maritime authorities.In a video statement, Mr. Narayanasamy said the arrest of 55 fishermen from the Rameswaram region and impounding of their vessels the other day was the latest in what has been a series of acts of “unbridled intimidation and harassment” of Tamil fishers by the Sri Lankan Navy. [14 other fishermen have also been detained.] “The Prime Minister should intervene in not only securing the release of the jailed fishers and their vessels but also prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to cease such acts once and for all,” Mr. Narayanasamy said.“Indian fishermen, mostly from Tamil Nadu and Karaikal regions, were being repeatedly apprehended and their boats seized on foisted charges of transgressing territorial boundaries even when they operated well within Indian territorial waters,” Mr. Narayanasamy contended.The senior Congress leader accused the Narendra Modi government of turning a blind eye to the continual harassment of Tamil fishermen by Sri Lankan maritime authorities.“Unlike the alacrity with which the Centre had taken up and secured the release of fishermen apprehended by Lankan Navy when the UPA was in power, the Modi government was not in constant engagement with Colombo to take up such maritime atrocities and also appeared not to be bothered about the plight of Indian fishermen,” Mr. Narayanasamy alleged.Slamming the GST model of the NDA that encroached on and appropriated the revenue of States and left them at the mercy of the Centre for funds, Mr. Narayanasamy said the Centre should allow States to opt out of the GST regime without being subjected to punitive measures.“The seven months of the NDA government in Puducherry have been a disaster for all sections,” Mr. Narayanasamy said.“None of the poll promises made by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, whether it was on Statehood or waiver of legacy loans, had been honoured,” he said.It is against this context of all-round failure that one should see Mr. Rangasamy’s response to a caller from Karaikal enquiring about the promised rain relief that he was not the sole figure of decision-making authority in the UT.“It was ironic that Mr. Rangasamy, who used to attack the previous Congress government for complaining about interference in implementing welfare measures, was the one pleading helplessness in coming good on his promises,” Mr. Narayanasamy said.“That the caller now “faced death threats” after the audio of the conversation went viral on social media from Mr. Rangasamy’s supporter is a reflection of his true authoritarian self,” Mr. Narayanasamy claimed. Alleging that there was a breakdown in law and order, he said murders, extortion and abductions were on the increase since the AINRC-BJP government took over.