Chennai:
MDMK Chief Vaiko, an ally of the ruling NDA in Delhi, has blamed the Modi government for the death sentence awarded to five Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu in Sri Lanka.
"It's the welcome and reception by the central government that has emboldened the Rajapaksa Government" he said.
"They want to bully our Tamil fishermen" he added.
The MDMK leader wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene strongly through diplomatic channels to secure the release of the convicted Indians.
The judges in Sri Lanka, Mr Vaiko alleges, are President Mahinda Rajapaksa's people and hence the courts are under his clutches.
"It's a fabricated case. The case was heard at the Jafna court. But the charge sheet was filed in a court in Colombo, killing justice," he said.
Mr Vaiko explains that the demands for the release of the convicted Indian fishermen wouldn't amount to supporting drug traffickers."They are innocent fishermen and it's easy to call them as drug traffickers. The Indian government took this stand after due verification by intelligence agencies," he said.
Mr Vaiko disapproved the violence that erupted at Rameswaram, the home town of the five Indians, soon after the news of capital punishment to the fishermen broke out. He appealed for calm, saying, "I do not justify any violence. But we should understand they were patient all these years. Some youngsters have turned emotional."
The five men, all from Thangaci Madam village in Rameswaram, have denied they are drug peddlers. They were arrested in 2011 on charges of drug trafficking.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam too has expressed doubts if the men had a fair trial.
Mounting pressure on the centre, Mr Vaiko would lead a protest in Chennai on the November 4.