Tension broke out at the venue of fishermen’s fast at Thangachimadam near here on Tuesday when a few participants raised objection to the arrival of local AIADMK MP A. Anwar Raja and one of them broke the windshield of his car .
When the MP walked towards the ‘pandal’ with M. Manikandan, party nominee for Ramanathapuram Assembly constituency, to express solidarity with the fishermen, a couple of them protested and accused him of letting down the community.
Even as fishermen leaders tried to intervene, an unidentified fisherman hit the front windscreen of the MP’s car and damaged it before fleeing. Taking the ‘attack’ in his stride, Mr. Raja offered to pardon the fisherman, stating that he was instigated by the DMK and there was no point in punishing him.
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Stating that the fisherman was drunk, the MP refused to lodge a police complaint. They were about to leave after the incident, but the fasting fishermen would not let them go, Mr. Raja told
Addressing the fasting fishermen, he said Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had done so much for them that even a Chief Minister from their community could not think of.
Representing Ramanathapuram in the Lok Sabha, he had raised the fishermen issue in Parliament as many as nine times and had even suggested that the fishermen should be armed to defend themselves from the Sri Lankan Navy, Mr. Raja said and pledged support to the struggle to protect their livelihood.
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After the fast, leaders of 11 fishermen associations unanimously adopted a resolution, urging the governments to guarantee their livelihood when they resumed fishing in June after the 45-day ban.
They object to the arrival of AIADMK MP, damage his car