Fishermen’s arrest: Jaya slams Centre

Accusing the Centre of showing ‘hopelessly inadequate response’ to arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa has said the island country’s ‘repressive’ navy was ‘establishing its authoritarian presence in the Palk Bay by arresting innocent fishermen.’ This has caused angst and resentment among the people of Tamil Nadu, she told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a letter dated 6 January, 2014, where she referred to the latest arrest of the state’s fishermen by the Lankan navy and sought his intervention to secure their release.