Accusing the Indian government of giving an “ineffective and weak response” over fishermen issue, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to secure immediate release of all fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan authorities in the last two years.

In a letter addressed to Singh yesterday, the copies of which was released to the press today, she wondered if the Sri Lankan Navy was deliberately trying to vitiate the atmosphere ahead of scheduled talks at Colombo on March 13 on fishermen issue.

She urged the Indian Prime Minister to take up at the highest diplomatic level the issue of immediate release of 177 Tamil Nadu fishermen and 44 boats .

She noted that after her letter to Singh on March 4 over the arrest of 32 fishermen on March three, two further incidents occurred in rapid succession on March 5 in which 24 fishermen were arrested in Palk Bay.

“The repeated incidents occurring with rapid succession particularly after I wrote to you calling for an early release of the fishermen before the March 13 talks lead me to wonder whether the Sri Lankan Navy is acting in a deliberate and calculated manner to vitiate the conducive environment before the talks,” she pointed out.

Jayalalaithaa also wondered whether Sri Lankan naval authorities were making sinister attempt to “nullify” the positive and proactive steps taken to work out a pragmatic solution for the day-to-day fishing activities of fishermen.

PTI