Fishermen ask PM to get jailed counterparts in Lanka released

Two days after a DMK-led fishermen's delegation met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an association of fishermen headed by a Congress MP today called on him seeking his intervention for release of their counterparts who are languishing in Sri Lankan jails.

The delegation, comprising fishermen from Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram districts in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal district of Puducherry, urged the Prime Minister to prevail upon the Lankan government on the issue.

"We conveyed and complained about frequent arrest of Indian fishermen by the naval forces of the island nation," K Alagiri, Lok Sabha member representing Cuddalore constituency, told PTI. More than 260 fishermen are imprisoned in Sri Lanka, he added.

The Congress MP dismissed any politics behind the meeting with the Prime Minister against the backdrop of the DMK delegation drawing his attention with similar demands a few days back.

"There is no politics. It was purely on humanitarian grounds," Alagiri said while adding that the meeting took place after fishermen from Ramanathapuram contacted Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram over their grievances recently.

He said the delegation has asked the Prime Minister to impress upon the Tamil Nadu government to convene a meeting between the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka at the earliest to resolve various issues over fishing.

Alagiri alleged that efforts for holding talks were being held up for political gains.