India, Sri Lanka fishermen issue | DMK leader R.S. Bharathi slams Union government in Rameswaram
The HinduDMK organising secretary R. S. Bharathi came down heavily on the Union government for providing financial assistance to ‘ailing’ Sri Lanka at a time when their Navy arrested fisherfolk from Tamil Nadu on “false” charges of poaching. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent assistance to the tune of ₹34,000 crore to the “ailing” island nation, but didn’t heed to our appeals seeking intervention to release the arrested fishermen,” Mr. Bharathi said at Rameswaram on February 11, 2024. This showed the “arrogance” and the scant respect towards the downtrodden people of Tamil Nadu, he charged and added that in the last decade, a whopping 3,076 fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. Attacking the Prime Minister, he further said that when floods had destroyed many districts in Tamil Nadu, the Union government refused to give aid and sent assistance to Sri Lanka, which arrested the fishermen from here, he added.