In her fifth letter to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ms. Jayalalithaa expressed serious concern over the recent attacks allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy personnel on the fishermen who intrude in to the Sri Lankan territorial waters, PTI reported.
"I strongly feel that the Government of India should assert itself with the Sri Lankan Government to control the rogue elements in the Sri Lankan Navy who continue to indulge in acts of physical assault on our innocent fishermen," she said.
The Chief Minister has said that the attacks on the fishermen from Tamil Nadu had caused great unrest," among the people.
Sri Lanka Navy's alleged attacks should be considered as attacks on India and treated as a national issue, she has urged.
In her letter to the PM, the Chief Minister, citing an alleged attack that seriously injured an Indian fisherman yesterday, said such continued incidents create insecurity among the fishermen community and despair over the government's inaction to stop them.
Indian fisheries officials have said that Sri Lankan naval personnel allegedly pelted stones at three fishing boats in the Palk straits yesterday injuring a fisherman and damaging the boats.
The Chief Minister has said that she had already expressed her apprehension of the "double-standards," adopted by Sri Lanka which, while issuing statements on the need for treating the straying fishermen on a humanitarian basis, "continues to be silent on the attacks launched by its own Navy."
"Despite my letters to you and despite your taking up the issue with the Government of Sri Lanka and their stated assurances in this regard, the attacks on our fishermen continue unabated and the situation is worsening day by day," she has written to the Prime Minister.
However, the Sri Lankan Navy denies any attacks by its personnel on Indian fishermen.
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