Fishermen row: Tamil Nadu BJP chief to meet Swaraj

Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundarajan will be meeting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday to discuss the problems faced by fishermen of the state.

"On 5th of August, we had a preliminary meeting with madam Sushma Swaraj to solve problems faced by the Tamil Nadu fishermen," said Soundarajan.

"This time we are also taking the fishermen brothers to discuss the issue. Madam is very keen on solving the problem to bring out a permanent solution for this," she added.

Launching a scathing attack on MDMK chief Vaiko, she asked him to get knowledge of the real picture first as he had earlier blamed the ruling government for the death sentence awarded to five Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu in Sri Lanka.

"The alliance partners should not talk like that because they should know the real picture of the problem. This is the case, which was filed in 2011 during the Congress rule. And during our rule, we are taking steps to release them officially, legally, and through the relationship between the government," she said.

"We are putting all our efforts on that. He should understand this. Brother Vaiko is a lawyer, he know the legal aspects of this case. So, just like that they cannot be relieved. There should be some legal process, which is taken by the government seriously," she added.

The Colombo High Court had earlier on October 30 sentenced five Indian fishermen - P Emerson, P Augustus, R Wilson, K Prasath, and J Lanklet - along with three Sri Lankans to death on charges of smuggling 995 grams of heroin. They were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for heroin trafficking in 2011.

The Indian fishermen claim that they have been falsely implicated in this case.