Chennai, Mar 17 (UNI) Terming as an utter lie, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charge that fishermen from Tamil Nadu were attacked and arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy because of the sins jointly committed by the DMK and the Congress, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the Katchatheevu islet was ceded to Sri Lanka despite strong protests by the DMK.
Mr Stalin also sought to know from Mr Modi the steps taken by the BJP-Led Government at the centre for the last ten years to retrieve the islet and why it has failed to prevent the frequent arrests and torture of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Accusing the BJP-led NDA at the Centre for pressuring the Island Nation government to promote the business interests of Adani Group, he also asked why the Centre did not raise its voice to protect the traditional fishing rights of the Tamil Nadu fishermen.
Fishermen will expose the farcical drama of the BJP government, which indulges in mudslinging on the DMK to cover up its failures and the time has come to remove the mask, he added.
“Why does the Prime Minister who calls himself Vishwaguru remain a silent guru?, he asked.
In a social media post, Mr Stalin said “The Prime Minister, without any qualms, has uttered a lie. The people of Tamil Nadu know the truth.”
“Is the Prime Minister so innocent to believe that a State government can cede a part of the country to another nation?”, he asked.
“What are the steps taken by the BJP in the last 10 years to retrieve Katchatheevu?,” he sought to know and wondered why the BJP government failed to prevent the arrest and torture of Tamil fishermen at the hands of Sri Lankan Navy.
“Are they not Indians? Why has the BJP government that pressured the Sri Lankan government for the business interests of the Adani Group not raised its voice for the traditional fishing rights of Tamil fishers?,” he asked.
The Chief Minister further charged that the procedure of jailing fishermen when they commit the same offence for the second time was introduced only when the BJP was in power, and it had not done anything to prevent it.
The BJP government was ignoring the interests of Tamil Nadu and Mr. Modi had no answer when the people asked him to list the special programmes that his government had implemented for the welfare of Tamil Nadu, he said.
“Lies and laments echoed from the dais from which he spoke. Why does the Prime Minister who calls himself Vishwaguru remain a silent guru? Fishermen will expose the farcical drama of the BJP government, which indulges in mudslinging to cover up its failures. The time has come to remove the mask,” he added.
