The Centre is yet to receive a response from the Tamil Nadu government on initiating talks between fishermen from the state and Sri Lanka to resolve issues, Union Minister V Narayanasamy today said.
The Centre had written to the state government to take steps for initiating the first level talks between the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, he told reporters here.
"The Union Government is yet to receive a response from the Tamil Nadu Government. We need the cooperation of the Tamil Nadu Government to take this forward," he said.
After meeting family members of 29 fishermen of Karaikal who were arrested by the Lankan Navy on July 29,Narayanasamy said he had spoken to the Sri Lankan Minister for Rural Development Arumuga Thondaman for steps to secure the release of fishermen of Karikal and Nagapattinam districts.
"I will meet the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister on Sunday to secure the release of the fishermen from Sri Lanka at the earliest," he said.
Referring the frequent arrests of Indian fishermen by the Lankan Navy, Narayanaswamy said the Centre had already initiated talks with the Lankan Government to find a permanent solution.
"It has been decided to hold bilateral talks between the Indian fishermen and the Sri Lankan fishermen and then comprehensive talks involving the governments and fishermen of both the countries," he said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had yesterday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to summon the Sri Lankan High Commissioner and convey India's strong protest on the arrest of Indian fishermen by the Lankan Navy.
