DMK and AIADMK members were locked in a war of words in the Rajya Sabha over the arrest of Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy on Friday.
Statement soughtMPs from both parties got into a heated argument when the AIADMK objected to a remark by the DMK’s KP Ramalingam when their leader in the House, A Navneethakrishnan, was speaking on the issue.
Earlier, members from DMK, CPI and CPI(M) demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the arrest of fishermen. Modi was present in the House when the matter was raised by DMK MP Thiruchi Shiva, who objected to an affidavit filed by the Ministry of External Affairs in the Madras High Court saying that the maritime boundary issue between Sri Lanka and India and the sovereignty over Kachchatheevu issue is a settled matter.
He said Kachchatheevu Island had been ceded to Sri Lanka without consulting anyone.
Navaneethakrishnan said Kachchatheevu must be retrieved and Sri Lanka could not have any legal rights over it. DMK’s Ramalingam made some remarks when Navaneethakrishnan was speaking, which were expunged from the records by deputy chairman, PJ Kurien later. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had to intervene to pacify the warring DMK and AIADMK members. “We must maintain dignityWe can convey our views, but we should not lose [our] temper,” Prasad said.
CPI national secretary D Raja said the Prime Minister should have responded to the issues raised by the members as the matter was very sensitive.