D Jayakumar slams DMK govt, BJP-led Centre for silence’ on TN fishermen attacks

CHENNAI: Former AIADMK Fisheries Minister and party spokesperson D Jayakumar slammed the Union and State governments for failing to protect Tamil Nadu fishermen following the incident of a Sri Lankan Naval ship ramming a boat carrying four Nagapattinam fishermen and stranding them in mid-sea.

A Sri Lankan Naval vessel deliberately rammed into their fishing boat resulting in it capsizing, causing injuries to them and damage to fishing gear and other equipment worth lakhs of rupees, four fishermen hailing from Nagapattinam district alleged on Wednesday.

In a social media post on the incident, Jayakumar said, “The silence of the BJP-led Union government and the DMK government in the State over the continuous assault on Tamil Nadu fishermen amounts to a great betrayal of the fishermen.” He also posted a clip of the four Nagapattinam fishermen expressing their anguish over the attack on them to a media channel.

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Equating the DMK government in the State to a monarchy, Jayakumar wondered whether Chief Minister M K Stalin understood the suffering of the fishermen. “The CM without shame took refuge in the US after giving the State (administration) like a toy to his son (Udhayanidhi),” he said.

The former minister also came down heavily on the AIADMK’s former ally, the BJP, and remarked that the BJP government at the Centre behaves as if it has nothing to do with the plight of Tamil Nadu fishermen and is only concerned about Gujarat, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

Also Read: 4 TN fishermen injured as Sri Lankan naval ship rams into their boat

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested more fishermen in 2024 than in the last decade, the AIADMK leader noted, adding that “they are being subjected to harassment at the hands of the racist Sri Lankan Navy. It has become an ongoing story.”