Katchatheevu Island Issue: PM Modi, Jaishankar Slam DMK, Former PMs' 'Indifference' About Indian Territory

PM Modi had on Sunday cited a media report to assert that new facts reveal that the Congress "callously" gave away Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. The report is based on a RTI reply Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai received on the decision of the then Indira Gandhi government in 1974 to hand over the territory in Palk Strait to the neighbouring country.

The report also cited first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's comments on the issue, a source of dispute between India and Lanka, that he would have no hesitation in giving up claims on the island.

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Raising the issue again on Monday, PM Modi said on microblogging platform X that: New details emerging on the issue of India handing over the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lank have unmasked the DMK's double standards totally." PM Modi cited a news report which claimed that then chief minister M Karunanidhi had given his concurrence to the agreement despite his party the DMK's public posturing against the deal.

On Katchatheevu Issue, Jaishankar Says 'We Now Know Who Hid It'

Speaking on the Katchatheevu issue at a BJP press conference on Monday, party leader and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said a solution needs to be found, adding that the government will have to work it out with the Sri Lankan side.

Jaishankar said we now know who "hid" the Katchatheevu agreement, adding that there is a need today to place the "full truth" of Katchatheevu in front of the public.

"The fact is we know today actually not just who did it but also who hid it, who were all the parties who were responsible for the 1974 Katchatheevu agreement, also how the fishing rights were terminated in 1976... You all know who is responsible... for today it is important for the public to know, for the people to judge... so we believe today that at a time when there are big debates and decisiong going on in the country, the full truth of Katchatheevu and on Tamil fishermen's activities and right of living should be placed before the public," Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar also said Prime Ministers back then "displayed indifference about the Indian territory and simply did not care".

"... We are talking about 1958 and 1960... The main people in the case wanted to make sure that at least we should get the fishing rights... The island was given away in 1974 and the fishing rights were given away in 1976... One, the most basic recurring [aspect] is the indifference shown by the then central government and the PMs about the territory of India... That fact is they simply did not care..." Jaishankar said.

"In an observation given by the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru in May 1961, he wrote, 'I attach no importance at all to this little island and I would have no hesitation in giving up our claim to it. I do not like matters like this pending indefinitely and being raised again and again in parliament.' So, to Pandit Nehru, this was a little island, it had no importance, he saw it as a nuisance... For him, the sooner you give it away, the better... This view continued on to Indira Gandhi as well...," Jaishankar added.

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Jaishankar said that the fishermen are still being detained today, boats still being apprehended and the issue is still being raised in Parliament. "It is being raised in Parliament by two parties who did it...Whenever there was an arrest, how do you think they were released? It is very good to give statements from Chennai, but the people who do the work are us...." Jaishankar added.

PM Modi Targets DMK On Katchatheevu Issue

PM Modi on Monday targeted the DMK over the Katchatheevu island issue, alleging the ruling party of Tamil Nadu did nothing to safeguard the state's interests.

"New details emerging on the issue of India handing over the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lank have unmasked the DMK's double standards totally," PM Modi said on X, citing a news report which claimed that then chief minister M Karunanidhi had given his concurrence to the agreement despite his party the DMK's public posturing against the deal.

The media report is based on an RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai to his queries on the 1974 agreement between India and Lanka when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister.

"Rhetoric aside, DMK has done NOTHING to safeguard Tamil Nadu's interests. New details emerging on Katchatheevu have UNMASKED the DMK's double standards totally," PM Modi said.

"The Congress and DMK are family units. They only care that their own sons and daughters rise. They don't care for anyone else. Their callousness on Katchatheevu has harmed the interests of our poor fishermen and fisherwomen in particular," he added.