Centre is silent on fishermen tonsure by Sri Lanka Navy, says Thamimun Ansari

TIRUCHY: Pointing out that tonsuring the heads of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan officials is a human rights violation the Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi (MJK) leader M Thamimun Ansari urged the Union government to issue a strict warning against the neighbour to desist from such acts.

Speaking to reporters in Tiruchy on Thursday, the MJK leader Thamimun Ansari said, the frequent attacks by the Sri Lankan navy on the Tamil Nadu fishermen in the mid-sea has created a fear psychosis among the fishermen along the Tamil Nadu coast and this has affected the seafood trades and exports in the region.

“If fishermen violate the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), we don’t have any objection in them getting arrested and legal procedure initiated against them. But Sri Lanka tonsuring the heads of Tamil Nadu fishermen is a blatant violation of human rights. The Union government had not initiated any action over the incident. Had it been on the Gujarat fishermen, the Union government would not have been sitting as a silent spectator and would have swung into action”, Thamimun asked.

Meanwhile, Thamimun said that the Union government’s decision on ‘one nation, one election’ would go against the Constitution and this would pave the way for transferring the states into corporations without much autonomy.

It would be a death knell for state autonomy, he said.

He also appealed to the Union government to appoint retired Muslim judges as the president of the Wakf board so that they could act independently.

Meanwhile, he also said minister Udayanidhi Stalin is the right choice to be the Deputy Chief Minister and urged the DMK leadership to initiate steps for that.