New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) India said Monday that it had "strongly objected" to Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's comments justifying the killing of Indian fishermen by its navy.
Making a statement after the issue was raised in the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said she had taken it up with Wickremesinghe.
The minister said she was in Sri Lanka when she read the transcript of the interview in which Wickremesinghe justified the firing on Indian fishermen intruding into Sri Lankan waters.
"My meeting was fixed with Wickremesinghe, so I raised the issue strongly with him," she said. "India has expressed its objection strongly."
Sri Lanka regularly arrests fishermen from Tamil Nadu who enter Sri Lankan waters. At times, the fishermen are shot and killed. Their vessels are also seized. The issue has caused strains in bilateral relations.
Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka are separated by a narrow strip of sea.
The minister said she told Wickremesinghe that the Indian fishermen released from Sri Lankan prisons in January -- after a new government took office in Colombo -- went through the whole legal procedure.
"I said that if we justify firing, we will keep firing at each other," she added.
Sushma Swaraj said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suggested that Indian fishermen must go for deep sea fishing.
Until then, a solution has to be found through a meeting between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen.
Crude oil prices are skyrocketing due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, d
The Russia-Ukraine war, which has been going on for more than 4 months, continues. Russia's inten
The next meeting of the opposition alliance 'India' formed to counter the ruling NDA and BJP in t
Voting will be held today for the election of the 15th President of the country. 4800 elected MPs
The kind of campaign that was being run by the Yogi government for the last 5-6 years to break th
The Aam Aadmi Party seems to be getting a clear majority in the Delhi Municipal Corporation elect
Allu Arjun won the National Award for his brilliant performance in the 2021 blockbuster film 'Pus
UP Chunav 2022: PM Modi's first virtual rally, said - 5 years ago, the rioters were the only law
BJP is entering the election battle of UP with full force. PM Narendra Modi addressed the BJP's v
The first look of superstar Amitabh Bachchan from the film 'Kalki 2898 AD' has been revealed. As
The police, GRP, and security agencies were stirred by the information about the bomb in the Kanw
