15 fishermen returned from Iran, efforts on to rescue others, says Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nagendran
Nagendran explained that the fishermen, hailing from coastal villages in Sivagangai and Uvari regions, had travelled to Iran for deep-sea fishing. However, due to rising conflict in the region, they were unable to continue working and expressed their desire to return home.
"Upon receiving information about their situation, I immediately contacted the Minister of External Affairs. Emergency food supplies were arranged for the stranded fishermen on one of the islands.
Efforts are also underway to rescue more fishermen from another island," Nagendran said.
S
ince direct flights from Iran were not feasible, the fishermen were brought to Dubai by ship and, from there, flown to Delhi, eventually reaching Chennai. He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs for facilitating the rescue. The Tamil Nadu BJP funded the entire operation.
Ajith, a fisherman from Uvari, expressed gratitude to the BJP for bringing them back. "Due to war tensions, we couldn't work and were struggling even for food. We reached out to Nainar Nagendran, and he arranged for our return," he said.
Anto, another fisherman, recalled, "We went to Iran in February, but the situation became tense and we couldn't go fishing for two months. We informed the BJP leadership, and they made arrangements for food and shelter.
Tamil Nadu government officials did not reach out to us at all. All 15 of us from our group are now back, though another group on a different island is still stranded."
Mfrom Tirunelveli shared the hardships they faced: "The war zone was intense. We needed GPS equipment to fish, but it wasn't provided. Our boat owner offered no help. We remained stranded on the boat since June 13. No one came to rescue us except Nainar Nagendran, who responded within a week of our plea.
We haven't received any wages, and the trauma remains. Seeing my wife and children will help me recover. He saved us like a god.
"
The Tamil Nadu BJP has promised to continue rescue efforts to bring back the remaining fishermen from Iran.
Nagendran also commented on actor Vijay's recent statement about not aligning with any party. "While Vijay now says he prefers to stand alone, the common goal between us and Vijay is that DMK should not remain in power.
I had suggested unity based on that shared view," he stated.
"Ever since the BJP and AIADMK reunited under the NDA alliance, DMK leaders have been visibly anxious. That's why they push the 'B-team' narrative. They said the same about TVK Chief Vijay and MNM Chief Kamal Haasan. Now Kamal is with the DMK, even an MP under their banner," he added.
Nagendran reaffirmed that with 10 months still to go before the Assembly elections, political strategies may evolve, and alliances could shift.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
30 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Ma Kali to signal to Left voters, Bengal BJP gets a move on under new state chief
A day after Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya was named the new Bengal BJP president, the party's state headquarters at 6, Murlidhar Sen Lane in central Kolkata already bore some signs of a shift. Hoardings with the faces of top party leaders were gone, and in a seminar hall that often doubles up as a press conference room, the backdrop had changed, with the faces of top party leaders replaced by the lotus symbol. With just under a year to go for the Assembly elections, this is not the only visible change in the main Opposition party in the state. Bhattacharya has also signalled a subtle and more important shift in the party's tactical positioning in state politics. In his first two speeches, the new Bengal BJP president reached out to Muslims and a section of the Left, tried to maintain a balance between the different factions in the state unit, and invoked the gods and deities of Bengal. A BJP old-timer with a long background in the RSS and built in the mould of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee brand of moderate Hindutva politics, Bhattacharya has his work cut out in Bengal, where the party is grappling with factionalism and maintaining a grassroots presence and has repeatedly lost to the Trinamool Congress in elections. At a time when the Bengal BJP is trying to unify Hindu votes — raising matters such as the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) alleged Muslim appeasement, and communal violence in Murshidabad in April — and not making that much of an effort to reach out to Muslims, considered Mamata Banerjee's vote bank, Bhattacharya tried to strike a balance in his initial remarks. 'The BJP's fight is not against the Muslims. Those who hold stones in their hand, the BJP wants to replace those stones with books. We want a Bengal where Muharram procession and Durga Puja 'visarjan' procession go side by side without any riot,' Bhattacharya said in his first speech as state BJP chief. At a press conference over the weekend, he said, 'Ninety per cent of victims of political violence in Bengal are Muslims and their family members wanted a CBI investigation.' However, Bhattacharya said the BJP was quite capable of forming the government without the support of the minority community. 'If one thinks that without Muslim votes we cannot form the government in Bengal, they are wrong. Look at Assam and its demographics.' Bhattacharya said his stance was no different from that of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who has adopted a more hardened Hindutva position, issuing slogans such as 'Hindu Hindu Bhai Bhai'. 'With incidents like Murshidabad happening, there is no difference of opinion. In India, all are Hindus,' Bhattacharya said. Bhattacharya called for Opposition unity in ousting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and, looking to reach out to a section of anti-TMC Left voters, claimed that Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee ensured that West Bengal retained its identity during Partition, and he was helped in this mission by Communist leader and former CM Jyoti Basu. The state BJP chief credited Basu and Mookerjee for 'saving Bengal in 1947'. However, CPI(M) Central Committee leader Md Selim dismissed the claim, accusing the BJP leader of trying to 'confuse' and denying that Jyoti Basu had supported any proposal by Mookerjee. Hitting out at those who ran the 'No vote to BJP' campaign ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections, several of them allied with the Left, Bhattacharya said such people should 'drop their masks and march with the TMC to face off against us'. One of the reasons the BJP was rejected by the Bengal electorate last time was the TMC's success in painting it as a party of outsiders that is more concerned with the pulls and pressures of Hindi heartland politics. While 'Jai Shri Ram' became the rallying cry for BJP leaders and workers, it did not find much resonance in the state, and allowed the TMC to accuse it of a cultural disconnect and placing too much emphasis on Lord Ram and not on deities from Bengal. At the first event following Bhattacharya's appointment, a picture of Maa Kali was garlanded. The TMC targeted the BJP over a backdrop at the event that had the images of the Goddess and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Alleging insult to the Goddess and 'sacrilege', TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said in a video posted on the party's account on X. 'The Modi cult has truly lost the plot. In their blind obsession with glorifying one man, they've now committed the unthinkable — placing @narendramodi's image alongside Maa Kali on a @BJP4Bengal event backdrop,' he said. 'This isn't just sycophancy, it's sacrilege. Modi ji is the elected head of a secular, constitutional democracy, not a deity to be worshipped. By elevating a mortal man to divine status, @BJP4India has mocked our faith and insulted our traditions. They scream about 'Hindu asmita' but use our Gods as campaign props,' Ghosh added. The biggest challenge for the new BJP chief will be a faction-ridden state unit, divided between groups led by Adhikari, former state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, and Bhattacharya's immediate predecessor and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar. At the press conference on Saturday, Bhattacharya said he was willing to 'work with all'. Praising Adhikari, he said, 'The Leader of Opposition not only resides in the heart of BJP workers, but also in the TMC. The TMC talks about him from morning to night. Even when they wake up from their sleep at night, they say, 'Suvendu, Suvendu', and then go back to sleep.' Ghosh also made it clear that Ghosh, who has been critical of the party leadership under Adhikari and Majumdar, was important for the party. 'Dilip Ghosh is not going anywhere. The party will make the right decision. Dilip Ghosh will be used in the appropriate position. He was there, is there, will be there. Jaaye toh jaye kaha (Even if he has to go somewhere, where can he)?'
The Hindu
31 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Madras High Court refuses to reject election petition against AIADMK MLA Natham Viswanathan
The Madras High Court, on Monday (July 7, 2025), dismissed AIADMK MLA and former Minister Natham R. Viswanathan's plea to reject an election petition filed by his rival candidate M.A. Andiambalam of DMK challenging his victory from Natham constituency in Dindigul district in the 2021 Assembly polls. Justice P.T. Asha concurred with advocate Richardson Wilson, representing the election petitioner, that his client had made out a prima facie case for conducting a full-fledged trial on the election petition and therefore it could not be rejected in limine at the request of the MLA. In his election petition, Mr. Andiambalam stated he was declared to have lost the 2021 election by a margin of 11, 932 votes since he secured 95,830 votes as against 1,07,762 votes polled by Mr. Viswanathan. He claimed that the election of his rival candidate ought to be set aside in view of various corrupt practices. The petitioner alleged the AIADMK MLA had violated many provisions of the Representation of the People Act of 1951, the Conduct of Election Rules of 1961 and also a series of notifications issued by the Election Commission of India thereby materially affecting the result of the polls.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
32 minutes ago
- Business Standard
YouTuber Manish Kashyap joins Jan Suraaj Party; Kishor sees big role
Hours after YouTuber and former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manish Kashyap joined the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) on Monday, the party's founder, Prashant Kishor, said that he is a son of Bihar who wants to do something for the state. Speaking about Kashyap's induction to news agency ANI, Prashant Kishor said, "Manish Kashyap is not just a YouTuber for Jan Suraaj, nor is he a former BJP leader, but he is a son of Bihar who has carved out his identity through his own strength, hard work, and wisdom, and wants to do something for Bihar." He highlighted JSP has a system that provides opportunities to every youth or individual who wants to contribute to Bihar. "Jan Suraaj is a system that provides opportunities to every youth or individual who wants to contribute to Bihar. If he has joined Jan Suraaj, I see a significant role for him in playing a major part in this campaign for change in Bihar moving forward," added Prashant Kishor. Rise to public attention Bihar-based social media influencer Manish Kashyap joined Prashant Kishor's JSP on Monday. He became a part of JSP along with a group of his supporters. The joining took place in the presence of Prashant Kishor. Kashyap, whose YouTube channel has nearly 10 million subscribers, first attracted major public attention some years ago when the Tamil Nadu Police arrested him. He was accused of sharing alleged fake videos showing Bihari migrants being mistreated in Tamil Nadu. Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kashyap joined BJP, however, he was not given a ticket to contest election. In June, he shared a video message announcing his decision to quit. In the video, he said the BJP 'used' him until the Delhi Assembly elections and then ignored him. With Bihar Assembly elections just around the corner, Manish Kashyap's move to the JSP can be seen as a boost to the party as it has been working to engage people from different backgrounds who are committed to bringing positive change to the state. The Election Commission of India has not announced an official date for the Bihar elections yet.
