Chennai: Slamming the Centre and Sri Lanka over the recent arrest of 23 Tamil Nadu fishermen, MDMK leader Vaiko on Monday asked New Delhi to take immediate steps to secure their release.
"While there had been numerous incidents of attacks and arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the island nation's Navy, the Manmohan Singh (led) government has not condemned the Sri Lankan government even once," Vaiko said in a statement here.
"The Centre's failure to protect Tamil Nadu fishermen is a betrayal to not only them but to the people of the state," he said.
The Centre should take all efforts to secure the release of the fishermen, who were fishing near Katchatheevu, he added.
PTI
First Published: Monday, July 23, 2012, 20:38