Fishermen fondly remember Sushma, call her architect of Blue Revolution

“We were surprised to have a national leader like Sushma Swaraj soon after hearing the death of our fishermen in 2011 and she said that the retrieval of Katchatheevu would be the only solution for the safety of our fishermen and assured to raise the issue in the Parliament,” recalls P Mathialagan, state secretary of Tamil Nadu Deep Sea Fishermen Association and a resident of a village near Pushpavanam, who was accompanying Sushma during her then visit.

Mathialagan said that Sushma was the key architect of the Blue Revolution that was introduced by the NDA government thereafter. He said, Sushma who interacted with the fishermen then, said that the Centre needed to find an alternative to ensure that the Indian fishermen do not cross the maritime border for which, they have to be allowed to involve in deep sea fishing for which the retrieval of Katchatheevu was a must and it was the main agenda of BJP.

Mathialagan said that Sushma assured them that she would fight for their rights in Parliament.  He recalled that Sushma said, despite the BJP does not have representation in Parliament from Tamil Nadu, she would act like a Tamil Nadu MP and voice for the safety of the fishermen. “When the BJP formed government, we witnessed it and the government was always ready to help us,” Mathialagan said. She had also handed over a cheque for Rs 2 lakh to the wife of one of the victims Jayakumar then.

Meanwhile, another fishermen leader Vellapalam Kumaravel claimed that there was no life loss in Sri Lankan Navy firing ever since the visit of Sushma Swaraj in their village. He also claimed that the leader was very patient in hearing from all the fishermen during her visit and assured to bring development in their life.