Twitter
Advertisement

Wickremasinghe's 'shoot an intruder' statement is a slap on India's face, says Karunanidhi

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M.Karunanidhi on Monday described the recent controversial statement of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wikramasinghe on Indian fishermen as most unfortunate and saddening, and added that it was like a slap on India's face.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M.Karunanidhi on Monday described the recent controversial statement of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wikramasinghe on Indian fishermen as most unfortunate and saddening, and added that it was like a slap on India's face.

It maybe recalled that Wickremasinghe had said last week that his government was willing to make a 'reasonable deal' with India with respect to the fishing rights, adding controversially that the law creates provisions for a man to 'shoot' an intruder in his home.

"If someone tries to break into my house, I can shoot. If he gets killed...Law allows me to do that... On the fishermen issue, As far as I'm concerned, I have very very strong lines. These are our waters...Fishermen of Jaffna should be allowed to fish. We stopped them from fishing, which is why the Indian fishermen came in. They are willing to have a deal...Let's have a reasonable deal... But not at the expense of the income of the Northern Fishermen," Wickremasinghe said, in an exclusive interview to Thanthi TV, a Chennai based news channel.

Wickremasinghe further said that the issue was between the fishermen of both nations and thus had to be worked out between the two parties. He, however, was adamant that Indian fishermen could not be allowed to trawl.

"It's an issue between Tamil Nadu fishermen and Sri Lankan fishermen... They have got to sit down and we have to work this out. There can be no bottom trawling. There can be no solution that permits the Indian fishermen to do bottom trawling. These are basically Sri Lanka waters... What would you have done if all our fishermen went into the Indian waters and started fishing there...? Now what you are claiming is, we want to come there, we want to fish in your water and we want to bottom trawl in your waters," he said.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister further conceded that have been instances of the Sti Lankan Navy shooting innocent fishermen, but denied that it was a violation of human rights.

Karunanidhi asked, "Does the law permit killing of fishermen who stray? Ranil's remarks ahead of (Prime Minister) Modi's visit not right. It's like slap on the face. Ranil Wickremesinghe's statement is saddenning."

He further went on to say that Prime Minister Modi should use his visit to Sri Lanka to look for ways to ensure the wellbeing of Lankan Tamils'.

"(Prime Minister) Modi should speak about demilitarisation and returning land to Tamils during his address to the Sri Lankan Parliament," the DMK leader said.

He also said that Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena was keen to have good ties with India.

"Prime Minister Modi can get the rights due for Lankan Tamils," he said, while referring to the refugee-like status of that community in the island-nation.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement