Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam today sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's direction to the External Affairs Ministry to facilitate the participation of all fishermen devotees from the state in the consecration ceremony of St Antony's church at Katchatheevu, an islet ceded by India to Sri Lanka in the 1970s.
In a letter, he urged Modi to instruct MEA to accord political clearance for the visit of pilgrims to the church without any cap on the number of visitors.
He recalled that Chief Secretary P Ramamohana Rao had earlier written to Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar seeking political clearance for up to 100 pilgrims from Rameswaram but that the MEA had allowed only 20.
"As you are aware, the St. Anthony's Church at Katchatheevu holds considerable cultural and religious significance to lakhs of fishermen devotees from Tamil Nadu, and a large number of them are very keen to participate in the consecration ceremony," Panneerselvam said.
Political clearance accorded for the participation of only 20 people will disappoint the ardent devotees, he added.
Panneerselvam recalled that his predecessor, late J Jayalalithaa, had earlier written to him that the construction of the church should be jointly taken up by the Indian and Sri Lankan sides in view of the joint heritage of fishermen from both sides.
The state's fishermen were "very keen" on protecting their traditional and customary access to this "important place of worship", he said.
He requested Modi to direct the External Affairs Ministry to to facilitate the participation of all fishermen devotees from Tamil Nadu, considering the sentiments attached to the event and the "inalienable rights" of Tamil Nadu fishermen to participate in the ceremonies of the church.
No restrictions should be placed on the number of participants, he reiterated.
The ceremony was originally scheduled for December 7 but Sri Lanka had postponed it on account of the "unfortunate and sad demise of" Jayalalithaa, he said, adding, the further date has not been indicated.
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