Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko and his supporters were on Friday detained when they tried to march towards the prime minister's residence in protest against the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the country. Vaiko and scores of his supporters have been protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi since morning, demanding that India close down the Sri Lankan High Commission in the capital.
Around 40 activists of a Tamil outfit on Friday stormed the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi, pelting stones and ransacking the premises -- an incident which the Government of India regretted and promised appropriate action against the perpetrators.
The presence of Vaz, parliamentarian from Indian-dominated Leicester East, and a fellow Labour MP, Joan Ryan, drew an angry response from the Sri Lankan High Commission, which released a statement claiming that the event was a 'clear violation of the UK terrorism laws.'
The prime minister also said he will meet Tamil MPs from Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Navy on Thursday arrested 32 Indian fishermen for alleged illegal fishing off the east coast, taking the total number of fishermen arrested during the last two days to nearly 70.
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