CHENNAI: AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran on Saturday attacked chief minister C Joseph Vijay over his govt’s handling of the recurring fishermen crisis and demanded that the Centre and the state govt take concrete measures to find a permanent solution to the issue.Dhinakaran made this remark in the wake of a daylong strike by Rameswaram fishermen, who protested the detention of 11 Tamil Nadu fishermen and the seizure of their boats by the Sri Lankan navy.He alleged that Vijay failed to take action beyond writing routine letters to the Centre. He recalled that Vijay, prior to the elections, had targeted previous Dravidian administrations by accusing them of “writing letters to the Centre and going to sleep” whenever fishermen had been arrested. However, three months into his tenure as chief minister, Vijay resorted to the same procedure without delivering results, Dhinakaran alleged.Highlighting the financial and psychological distress faced by fishing families due to the Sri Lankan navy’s actions, Dhinakaran urged both the central and state govts to stop using fishermen as political pawns and take immediate and permanent measures to safeguard their lives and livelihoods.
