Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Sunday accused the BJP of adopting a double standard on the fishermen issue and urged the people not to vote for it as this would not benefit the State.
Campaigning for A.P.R. Anthony Grace, AIADMK’s mayoral candidate in Tuticorin for the September 18 by-elections, she said the AIADMK was the only party to safeguard the interests of the people of the State.
The BJP, she said, would adopt a double standard, with one view in New Delhi and another in Tamil Nadu. “The Tamil Nadu fishermen are often tortured by the Sri Lankan Navy and their boats seized,” she said.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said she had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and wrote him several letters, pressing for measures to secure the release of the fishermen. “It was only because of the efforts of the AIADMK government that the arrested fishermen were released,” she said.
While the BJP was claiming that a permanent solution should be found to the problems of the fishermen, a senior leader of the party was acting against their interests, she said, apparently referring to Subramanian Swamy. “In fact, the senior leader was proud of his role in preventing the release of boats seized by the Sri Lankan Navy. But the BJP’s State unit did not condemn such an attitude, and the Centre, too, maintained silence despite growing condemnation from many,” she said.
The AIADMK was the only party that was committed to the welfare of the people. The people were being burdened with the increase in the prices of commodities brought on by the flawed policies of the Centre. To help the poor bear with the problem, the State launched welfare schemes.
