It is shameful that Governor Ravi has become a representative of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Raj Bhavan has turned into an office of the saffron party, he alleged.
The Indian high commission said its operational visit is to commemorate the ninth edition of International Day of Yoga under the theme of "Global Ocean Ring".
The navy said that so far the 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil it was carrying had not been affected by the fire.
A Chinese Navy warship capable of surveillance has docked at the Colombo port, nearly a year after another spy vessel berthed at a strategic port in the country and raised concerns in India.
The Indian Navy rescued an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel with 19 Pakistani crew members and a Sri Lankan trawler in two swift operations after armed pirates hijacked the boats in the Arabian Sea amid deteriorating security situation arising out of Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeting various cargo ships in the region.
A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday ordered the release of 56 Indian fishermen who were detained for allegedly fishing in the island nation's territorial waters.
At least 34 Indian fishermen have been arrested and their boats seized by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in the country's waters, authorities in Colombo said on Tuesday.
They were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy with assistance from the coastal guard officials, Sri Lankan officials said.
Voicing concern over Tamil Nadu fishermen being caught by Sri Lankan navy, the Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and state government on petitions filed by Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam members of Parliament for release of those languishing in jails there.
The fishermen were charged with poaching fish in their territorial waters using the banned fishing net, he added.
Slamming New Delhi's "meek and passive approach" over the arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu government has said the Centre cannot remain a "mute spectator" and asked to condemn the island navy's action in the "strongest terms."
'Jail was very crowded, we were 56 people crammed together. All 56 of us had to use only one toilet'
They also pelted stones at the fishermen before driving them away
Protesting the repeated "onslaughts" by the Sri Lankan Navy against Tamil Nadu fishermen, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday sought the immediate intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure the release of the arrested fishermen.
Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 53 Indian fishermen in the last 24 hours for allegedly entering its waters illegally, prompting India to summon Lankan deputy high commissioner in New Delhi.
Six Tamil Nadu fishermen were injured on Tuesday when they were allegedly attacked by the Sri Lankan navy which briefly detained 13 others near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits.
Seeking strong diplomatic action from the Centre for release of 28 Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday said the Centre should "not" treat the International Maritime Boundary Line with the island nation as a settled question, as it is a subject matter of litigation in the Supreme Court.
An Indian fisherman was killed and another seriously injured when the Sri Lankan Navy opened fire on the boat carrying them, TV channels reported on Thursday.The Lankan Navy claimed that the fishermen were trespassing, said the reports.
The Panama registered tanker New Diamond was carrying 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil from Kuwait to India when its engine room caught fire off the coast of Sangamankanda in the eastern district of Ampara, Sri Lankan Navy spokesman Capt Indika Silva said.
In the wake of arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking laying down a time-bound action plan to achieve a "long-term, permanent solution to the problem and also to put in place a strong and robust diplomatic response".
The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the ministry of external affairs, based on a complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari, about barbaric killings of more than 500 fishermen in the past few decades by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Against the backdrop of frequent attacks against Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to advise Colombo in 'strong terms' to refrain from such 'uncalled for attacks'. Karunanidhi, who arrived in Delhi on a three-day visit on Sunday, met Dr Singh at his 7, Race Course Road residence and took up the issue of recent 'brutal attacks' by the Sri Lankan Navy on fishermen from TN.
Barely weeks before he turned 22, a young fisherman was shot, allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday dismissed as "wrong reports" about firing on Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy in the last 10 months, but said cases of some excesses by them have been taken up.
A day after Sri Lankan Navy released around 1,000 Tamil Nadu fishermen after detaining them for a day, thousands of fishermen from Rameshwaram launched an indefinite strike on Friday demanding protection and an end to recurring incidents of attacks by the island's navy.
Coastal police stations and police chiefs have been alerted about suspicious vessels.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday said the Centre's "inadequate response" to apprehension and detention of Indian fishermen "has emboldened the Sri Lankan Navy to harass" them, and sought a "robust diplomatic response" on the emotive issue.
According to the Fisheries Department officials, Sri Lankan Navy personnel arrived in intercepter boats and opened fire on Monday night. They completely damaged one boat, beat up the fishermen and took away the fish and nets.
Tension prevailed in Rameswaram when Ramu's body was brought ashore.
India has lodged strong protest with the Sri Lankan government over the recent incidents of firing by the island nation's navy on Indian fishermen, a senior Coast Guard official said on Monday.
At least 32 Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy for allegedly poaching in the country's waters off the coast of the Delft islet in Jaffna.
Fifty fishermen from Nagapattinam and Karaikal have been arrested by the Sri Lankan
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to facilitate a dialogue between fishermen associations in the state and Sri Lanka in Chennai in December following frequent attacks and arrests of fishermen by naval personnel of the island nation.
The fishermen along with their two mechanised boats had been taken to Kankesanthurai Port in northern Sri Lanka.
After stepping up attacks on the Union government over India's participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka last month, chorus is mounting in Tamil Nadu among opposition parties over the country's offer to train Sri Lankan Naval personnel.
Expressing dismay over reports of Indian Coast Guard participating in naval exercises with Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to recall the two ships and Coast Guard personnel participating in the event in the island nation.
During a virtual meeting of the joint working group on fisheries on Friday, both countries agreed that the use of force could not be justified under any circumstances.
Eight fishermen were injured in separate incidents of attack allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy while fishing off Kodiakarai coast, fisheries department officials said on Thursday.
Four fishermen from Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district were allegedly attacked by Sri Lankan Navy personnel with wooden logs while they were fishing off Kodiakarai coast in a mechanised boat, official sources said on Thursday. The fishermen, who went for fishing on Wednesday, returned on Thursday morning. They have been admitted to a government hospital with injuries.
Nineteen fishermen, who ventured into the sea from Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, were on Thursday arrested by the Sri Lankan navy when they went for fishing in the Palk Strait, officials said.
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