Tamil Nadu, March 18 (Deccan Herald) - Chief Minister M.K.Stalin of Tamil Nadu criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and questioned why the Union Government did not exerted pressure on the Sri Lankan government for the restoration of traditional rights for Indian fishermen in the Palk Straits with the same vigor it displayed with Sri Lanka in protecting the business interests of Gautam Adani.

The Chief Minister's remarks come in response to Prime Minister Modi's recent statements that the 'sins' committed by the DMK was the reason for the sufferings of fishermen from Tamil Nadu, seeking to know the steps taken by the Union Government in the last 10 years to restore the traditional rights of the fishermen in the Palk Straits, the Deccan Herald reported.

“The Prime Minister who calls himself a vishwa guru, becomes a mouna guru when we ask questions on what his government did to stop atrocities against Tamil Nadu fishermen at the hands of Sri Lanka,” Stalin said in a hard-hitting statement

The Chief Minister and DMK President were responding to Modi’s remarks at a public meeting in Kanyakumari, a BJP stronghold, on March 15, that the sins of the DMK and Congress were the reason for the problems being faced by fishermen from Tamil Nadu, in an indirect reference to the ceding of Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1974.

In the statement, Stalin said people of Tamil Nadu are aware that the island was ceded to Sri Lanka despite opposition from the then state government headed by M.Karunanidhi of the DMK. “Is the Prime Minister naive enough to believe that a state government can hand over a part of the country to another country?” Stalin asked.

He also sought to know the actions taken by the Union Government led by the BJP in the last 10 years to retrieve the island. “Why doesn’t the Union Government stop Tamil Nadu fishermen from being imprisoned. Aren't they Indians?” the Chief Minister asked.

“The Sri Lankan government announces that the boats have been seized and nationalized. Why has the Indian government not officially and publicly condemned this? There is no answer to all this. Why is the Prime Minister who calls himself vishwa guru (becomes a) mouna guru?” he asked.