Key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday condemned the petrol price hike and demanded that the government retain its control on the pricing of petroleum products, besides seeking a change in the pricing policy. Party chief M Karunanidhi said the issue had become similar to that of attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen -- allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy -- with political leaders issuing statements expressing concern during such incidents.
Several countries like the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Singapore have already banned travellers from India as well as other South Asian countries.
A day after India lodged a strong protest against detention of its fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, a court in the island nation on Friday ordered the release of 34 fishermen, officials of a fishermen association in India said.
At least 60 fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy personnel while fishing near Katchatheevu on Thursday, an official from fishermen association said.
'The minister said we should stop fishing near the shore and start going for deep sea fishing.'
Strongly protesting the "abduction" of 49 fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to instruct the external affairs ministry to secure their release.
Fifteen fishermen, who put to sea from in Rameswaram, were on Monday attacked allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy when they were fishing near Dhanuskodi, fisheries department sources said.
Sri Lankan navy personnel on Sunday allegedly assaulted four Indian fishermen for not helping one of their colleagues, who fell in their boat while trying to jump in the vessel and suffered a fracture.
In a letter to PM Modi, Jayalalithaa referred to the arrest of four Indian fishermen and pointed out that this was the third such incident since May 31.
The incidents of arrests of fishermen and the recent firing should be viewed as an "indirect attempt to intimidate India and browbeat it into not raising its voice" against Sri Lanka on the innocent Tamils there in the international fora which is highly unacceptable, she said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Sri Lankan navy on Sunday allegedly took away forcibly the catch netted by fishermen who put to sea from Rameswaram, when they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits, fisheries department officials said.
The Sri Lankan government on Friday reached out to fishermen community of Tamil Nadu as President Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother and economic development minister Basil met their delegation here with a promise of addressing their concerns.
Sri Lankan naval personnel on Sunday allegedly attacked some fishermen from Rameswaram and prevented them from fishing near the International Maritime Boundary line, officials said. The Lankan personnel asked them to stop fishing and go back at gun point, officials said. They also snatched the fishermen's GPS equipment and fishing nets.
Observing that Indian fishermen hailing from Tamil Nadu have been "traditionally fishing" in contentious Katchatheevu, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ask Colombo to stop its navy from harassing them.
Nine fishermen from Tamil Nadu had been taken into custody by the Sri Lankan navy on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line.
Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday intercepted a boat carrying 97 Tamil-origin Lankans, including 40 children, believed to be on their way to Australia illegally.
Voicing concern over increased attacks on Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu government has asked the Centre to initiate diplomatic steps to check it and urged for withdrawal of the 1974 agreement ceding Katchatheevu islet to the island nation.
The government has impressed upon the Sri Lankan navy to act with restraint and not to fire on Indian fishermen sailing along the International Maritime Boundary Line, Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Alleging continued killing and harassment of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa urged the Supreme Court to expeditiously hear its petition challenging the Centre's 1974 decision to cede Kachatheevu Island to the island nation.
Over 35 Chinese fishermen, detained by Sri Lanka for allegedly poaching in the country's waters were released on Monday within 24 hours of their arrest.
Twenty three fishermen from Tamil Nadu, arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on July 22 when they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits, have been released, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said on Friday.
The Tamil Nadu government on Monday denied reports that the Sri Lankan navy had allegedly attacked fishermen belonging to the state on Sunday.
The Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday released 42 fishermen arrested by it for allegedly violating the International Maritime Boundary Line, a senior Fisheries Department official said.
Thirteen fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in Lankan territorial waters.
Two Indian nationals were among a group of 53 people bound for Australia arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy, the police said on Wednesday.
Voicing her serious concern over increasing attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday said such assaults on Indian citizens should be viewed as "an act of provocation and aggression against India." Jayalalithaa conveyed her sentiments to Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, who called on her in Chennai ahead of his three-day Colombo visit beginning on Saturday.
India's external affairs ministry has said that the government will appeal against the judgment of a court in Sri Lanka to sentence five Indian fishermen to death.
India has taken up with authorities in Colombo the issue of arrest of 23 Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy when they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits on Sunday, Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi on Monday.
At least 10 fishermen from this coastal town have been taken into custody by the Sri Lankan navy for reportedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and fishing in their waters.
Taking exception to the continued arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu government has told the Centre that Colombo's "dubious actions" has resulted in the situation at sea remaining "precarious."
Four more fishermen were on Thursday allegedly taken into custody by Sri Lankan Navy for fishing near Katchatheevu, the second such incident in as many days.
Seeking a "decisive shift" in the Centre's stance vis-a-vis Sri Lanka on the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure the release of 33 fishermen, arrested by the island nation's navy, and ensure a lasting solution to the issue.
More than 2200 fishermen in about 596 boats were fishing in the sea near Katchatheveeu, an islet ceded by India to the island nation, when the Navy personnel came on four boats and intecepted them.
Twenty-two Tamil Nadu fishermen were injured in two separate attacks allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy which also briefly detained 16 of them while fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits, in the second such incident in as many days.
The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested another 11 Tamil Nadu fishermen late on Wednesday night, hours after they apprehended 36 fishermen hailing from a village in Pudukottai district while fishing near Neduntheevu and Katchatheevu islet, a fisheries department official said.
Five fishermen apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy for reportedly fishing in their territorial waters were brought back by the Indian Coast Guard on Monday after the island nation's naval personnel handed them over at the International Maritime Boundary Line.
Assistant Director of Fisheries, Veeran, said the Lankan Navy had informed them through the Coast Guard that the fishermen had landed there by accident on Sunday, and they were to be released on Monday after being found innocent.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa advocated a "humanitarian approach" to avoid clashes between fishermen from India and his country near the international maritime border (IMB).
Certain media reports had recently claimed that on Sunday, a Sri Lankan Navy ship had rammed into an Indian fishing vessel, sinking it. This kind of false information may have been spread by Tamil nationalists, who on one hand are trying to defame the Lankan Navy and on the other, are publicly defending Rajiv Gandhi's assassins.
The WikiLeaks expose on the alleged 'cash-for-votes' scam in 2008 on Friday disrupted Parliament proceedings, as a united Opposition demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the matter. The cables published by WikiLeaks alleged that the United Progressive Alliance government had bribed MPs to win the 2008 trust vote after the Left parties withdrew support on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances