Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar claims Indian fishermen are being arrested by Sri Lanka due to a controversial Emergency-era agreement that gave up their traditional fishing rights. Speaking at a BJP event marking 50 years since the Emergency, Jaishankar criticized the lack of parliamentary debate at the time and took aim at the Congress party’s legacy.
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has attributed the ongoing issue of Indian fishermen being arrested by Sri Lankan authorities to a controversial agreement signed during the Emergency in 1976, which he says surrendered Indian fishing rights in certain Sri Lankan waters.
Speaking at a BJP Yuva Morcha event to commemorate 50 years since the Emergency, Jaishankar stressed that the agreement signed when democracy was suspended under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi would never have passed in a genuinely functioning Parliament. “We hear about our fishermen being arrested by Sri Lanka. This stems from a deal made during the Emergency, where their rights were abandoned without any debate,” he said.
He added that the consequences of that decision are still felt today, particularly in Tamil Nadu, where many affected fishermen live. Jaishankar, who also reflected on his own experiences during the Emergency including police raids on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) hostels criticized the Congress party and what he called “family-first politics.”
“The world saw the collapse of the world’s largest democracy,” he noted, citing how India’s global image suffered after the imposition of Emergency on June 25, 1975.
In a sharp dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Jaishankar said, “Some people carry the Constitution in their pockets but hold very different intentions in their hearts.”
Calling for a more empowered public, he said such an abuse of power should never be allowed to happen again.
