Refrain from politics, ensure fishing rights for TN fishers, TNCC chief tells BJP prez

Chennai, Jan 23 (PTI) Accusing BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai of 'playing politics' on Katchatheevu islet issue, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai on Thursday asked him to prevail upon the BJP government at the Centre and ensure fishing rights for Tamil Nadu fishers.

During 2024 alone, about 530 Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested and 71 fishing crafts were confiscated and auctioned by the Sri Lankan Navy. "Will Annamalai explain what steps the BJP government has taken to prevent this?" Selvaperunthagai asked in a statement here.

Annamalai's politics was to merely make baseless allegations, he added.

On January 22, Annamalai lashed out at the Congress and its ally, the ruling DMK in the state, over the ceding of the Katchatheevu islet to Sri Lanka in the 1970s, and questioned the TNCC chief over his recent statement that the move was a "strategic maneuver" by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In the statement, Selvaperunthagai claimed that the Tamil Nadu fishermen were forced to fish near the Sri Lankan waters for their livelihood due to a decline in fisheries in the state's coastal areas.

He said if Annamalai was truly concerned about the welfare of Tamil Nadu fishermen, then he would have taken up the issue of the fishermen's right to fish in Lankan waters, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"However, I would like to warn that if Annamalai continues to speak out for political gain, then he will face the wrath of Tamil Nadu fishermen," the Congress leader said. PTI JSP KH