PM Modi must sign accord with Sri Lanka to secure fishing rights, says TNCC chief

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi led BJP regime to sign a pact with Sri Lanka to secure the fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen.

Citing the arrest of 13 fishermen from Karaikal in Puducherry by the Lankan Navy a few days ago, Selvaperunthagai said that the island nation has apprehended 554 Tamil Nadu fishermen and 72 of their boats in 2024 alone, and the issue remained unresolved even after CM Stalin repeatedly wrote to PM Modi and Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar. Referring to the 1974 and 1976 agreements signed between the two countries which redrew the boundaries, the TNCC chief said that the international maritime boundary line should not be a deterrent to the traditional fishing rights of the fishermen.

Arguing that the Lankan navy lacked the authority to arrest the fishermen venturing past the International maritime boundary line as Colombo could not deny the traditional fishing rights in the Sri Lankan waters, Selvaperunthagai said that the Indian government has extended financial assistance to the tune of US $ 4 billion to Lanka.

Modi, who is the PM of a dominant country in the region, must hold dialogue and sign a pact with Anura Kumara Dasanayake, president of a minor country in the region.