Addressing an election rally in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa said “I had sent several letters requesting the Prime Minister to take efforts to free the apprehended fishermen. The Prime Minister has neither replied to the letters nor taken action to release our fishermen. Instead of condemning the recent arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen who are also Indian citizens, the Prime Minister was shaking hands with Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Do we need such an irresponsible Prime Minister?” she asked.

“It is due to my strenuous efforts that several fishermen  languishing in Lankan prisons were freed ahead of the first round of bilateral talks held in Chennai on January 27, 2014. With the second round of talks scheduled to be held in Lanka on March 13, the island government should release the fishermen apprehended recently from the coastal hamlets of the State,” she said.

Retrieving Katchatheevu island would be the permanent solution for the ongoing dispute between the two countries, Jayalalithaa said and asserted that an AIADMK-inclusive Union Government would pursue efforts to retrieve the island.