Apparently disappointed with the Sri Lankan government’s decision to release 66 Indian fishermen sans their boats, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to set free only 30 Sri Lankan fishermen on Monday.
This was evident from a letter written by Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday wherein there was no mention of the release of 19 boats of the Sri Lankan fishermen.
On December 16, when Mr. Panneerselvam wrote to Mr. Modi, he stated that the State government was “prepared to release 30 Sri Lankan fishermen and their 19 boats” on December 22.
Referring to the External Affairs Ministry’s communication on Thursday, the Chief Minister said that despite being informed of Tamil Nadu’s offer, Colombo was “agreeable only” to release 66 Indian fishermen but not their 81 boats.
The Sri Lankan government’s move “only confirms what my respected leader [the former Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa] had always maintained that it is pursuing a sinister strategy of depriving fishermen families in Tamil Nadu of their source of livelihood,” he contended and urged Mr. Modi to take up again the boats release issue with Sri Lanka.
