M Karunanidhi objects to Lankan minister's statement

Chennai, Feb 25: Objecting to a Sri Lankan Minister's announcement that Lankan fishermen would rally against their Indian counterparts,

chief

today described it as a "planned strategy" by Colombo to divert off attention from the "tyrannies" of .

Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda's statement warning of a protest "seem to be a planned strategy by Sri Lanka to divert off attention from the tyrannies of the Rajapaksa government which are slowly coming to light...," he said.

"I believe Indian government would have realised by now that Devananda's remarks amount to challenging it by provoking it," Karunanidhi said in a party statement.

Recalling that Devananda is an accused in a 1986 shootout case at Choolaimedu here, he said a man with such background making statements like these was against Indian fishermen and the Tamil people which "cannot be tolerated".

"Taking into account his arrogant talk, the Centre and the state government should take due action immediately," he requested.

Lankan fishermen would stage a rally to protest against their Indian counterparts for allegedly snapping their fishing nets and causing inconvenience to them, Devananda had said while participating in the St Anthony's Church festival yesterday at Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Sri Lanka by India in 1974.

PTI