External Affairs Ministry failed to ensure safety of T.N. fishermen, alleges Selvaperunthagai

The Union External Affairs Ministry has “failed” to ensure the safety of fishermen venturing into the sea from the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, alleged Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. Selvaperunthagai on Wednesday (August 28, 2024).

The Union External Affairs Ministry has “failed” to ensure the safety of fishermen venturing into the sea from the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, alleged Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. Selvaperunthagai on Wednesday (August 28, 2024).

Despite the BJP’s promise when it came to power in 2014, that fishermen’s issues in Palk Bay would be sorted out, mid-sea attacks, arrests, and the seizure of boats belonging to fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy have continued, he said while speaking to the media.

Mr. Selvaperunthagai also asked why the Joint Working Committee meeting of fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka had not been arranged.

Mr. Selvaperunthagai said there was no explanation from both the Union government and the government of Maharashtra on the collapse of a 35-foot tall statue of Maratha warrior-king Chhatrapati Shivaji at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg district on August 26.

During the tenure of K. Kamaraj and M. Karunanidhi as Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, many statues were installed in the State, including the 133-foot tall statue of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in Kanniyakumari, he said, adding that they continue to withstand natural disasters. The governments should give a proper explanation for the collapse of the Shivaji statue, which was constructed using taxpayers’ money, he said.

He also asked why the BJP had not taken action against actor and Lok Sabha MP Kangana Ranaut, who made controversial remarks on the farmers’ agitation against the now-scrapped three farm legislations, except distancing itself from her comments.

When asked about BJP State president K. Annamalai’s recent comments on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the proclamation of Emergency in the mid-1970s, Mr. Selvaperunthagai said: “Annamalai and the BJP have no right to talk about Indira Gandhi.”