Chennai: Workers of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led by general secretary Vaiko held massive protests in Chennai on Tuesday against the death sentence awarded to five Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan court.
Vaiko, who is an ally of the BJP, also lashed out at the central government for inviting Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the searing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking to CNN-IBN, he said, "I blame NDA government for giving Rajapaksa, the killers of Tamil, a red carpet welcome. NDA is following same policies as the previous UPA government on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. I am still part of the NDA. I will wait for them to rectify their mistakes."
He has demanded an early release for all the fishermen.
On October 30, the Colombo High Court sentenced to death the five fishermen on charges of allegedly smuggling heroin into Sri Lanka. They were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in November 2011.
India has, however, categorically said that the five are innocent. Soon after the judgement, spokesperson of External Affairs Ministry, Syed Akbaruddin said the government would appeal against the ruling. He also said that India is in touch with Lankan authorities on the issue.
The Colombo verdict outraged fishermen communities, the political parties and the civil society. Protests were held by fishermen and political parties across Tamil Nadu. Ramanathapuram District in the State was paralysed for two days owning to protests.
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