21 fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka, TN parties tell Centre to seek action

The Tamil Nadu unit of BJP and the PMK on Sunday flagged the arrest of 21 more fishermen by Sri Lanka and urged the Centre to swiftly secure the release of fishers and their boats.

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai and PMK top leader Anbumani Ramadoss said 21 fishermen have been arrested by the island nation. Also, their two boats have been seized. The fishermen were arrested on the night of March 16 by Lankan authorities.

Writing to External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, Annamalai said: "We bring to your kind attention the detention of 21 fishermen from Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy and 2 fishing boats belonging to these fishermen were also apprehended. We request the intervention of our External affairs ministry to facilitate the early repatriation of the detainees and the release of their fishing boats." Annamalai posted a copy of his letter to the minister on 'X'.

In a post on 'X', Anbumani, also a Rajya Sabha MP, said during the past one week, as many as 58 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Karaikal (Puducherry) have been arrested by Sri Lanka. "During the past two months, more than 80 fishermen have been arrested."

The PMK leader said the Central government must not allow the 'endless arrests and attacks' of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lanka. The union government should take action to secure the release of all the 58 fishermen and all their boats.