Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Saturday opposed the proposal of joint patrolling by Indian and Sri Lankan naval forces across the Palk Straits.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Karunanidhi said, "There is no requirement of joint patrolling at this juncture. The issue of joint patrolling was once discussed and did not find favour with our government due to a number of reasons."
Referring to the reported discussions between Indian and Sri Lankan foreign ministers at New York recently, where the issue was once again brought by Sri Lanka, Karunanidhi said the Lankan request for joint patrolling need not be considered.
The reasons had been discussed at length with the National Security Advisor M K Narayanan by the then chief secretary of Tamil Nadu, he said.
During the meeting with him, Narayanan had confirmed that adequate steps were being taken to provide the navy and Coast Guard with the best equipment and other infrastructure as demanded by him, Karunanidhi said.