Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday said fishermen of Tamil Nadu were unable to access their traditional fishing waters for fear of being kidnapped or attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy.
In a strongly-worded letter sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemning the capture and arrest of 49 Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, she said that despite repeated protests, the Union government had not taken any firm stand on the matter and exerted little or no diplomatic pressure on Sri Lanka to bring about a permanent solution to the problem.
The Centre should summon the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in New Delhi and lodge a strong protest against the latest act of “illegal and highhanded abduction” of such a large number of innocent fishermen in the Palk Bay by the Sri Lankan Navy, she demanded.
