New Delhi:
A small island between India and Sri Lanka on Palk Straight has become a hot topic ahead of the general elections in Tamil Nadu, where the BJP is trying to drum up support. Katchatheevu Island, a disputed territory, was given to Sri Lanka through an agreement in 1974 by the Congress government led by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now posted a message on social media saying that the Congress has acted “heartlessly”. gave it away.
“Eye-opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress heartlessly gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds that we can never trust Congress,” Prime Minister Modi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’s mode of operation for 75 years,” he added, posting a Times of India report based on an RTI response from Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai.
He later raised the issue at a rally in Meerut aimed at interrupting the BJP campaign in Uttar Pradesh and linking it to the capture of Tamil fishermen and seizure of their boats by the Lankan forces.
Mr Annamalai’s RTI had sought details of the Indira Gandhi government’s decision to hand over the island, which has always been a grouse moor in Tamil Nadu. With the Congress allied with the state’s ruling DMK, the BJP is hoping to gain political traction in the state dominated by Dravidian politics.
The controversy
Katchatheevu – about 33 km from the Indian coast near Rameswaram – has been a disputed area between India and Sri Lanka since the British period. At the time, both nations were British colonies. The British, citing the traditional claims of the Ramnad zamindari of Ramanathapuram, had attached it to the Madras Presidency.
But after independence, a dispute broke out again over fishing rights around the island.
To settle the dispute and strengthen ties with Sri Lanka, the Indira Gandhi-led government had agreed to cede the land to the island nation under the 1974 “Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Agreement”.
At the time, the uninhabited volcanic island – 1.6 kilometers long and about 300 meters wide – was thought to have little strategic value. But in recent decades, the situation has changed due to the rise of China and its growing influence in Sri Lanka.
Why Katchatheevu is important for Tamil Nadu
Indian fishermen who enter the area and face action from Lankan authorities are largely from Tamil Nadu.
The DMK, which ruled Tamil Nadu in 1974, alleged that the Congress government had not taken its views into account before signing the agreement with Sri Lanka. The party had held several protests at the time.
The J Jayalalithaa-led government had routinely highlighted the issue and even taken it to court.
Last year, ahead of Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had written a letter to Prime Minister Modi asking him to discuss the issue.
He also later wrote to Prime Minister Modi after several fishermen were arrested by Lankan authorities.
“The traditional fishing waters that Tamil fishermen have relied on for generations are becoming increasingly limited, making it difficult to sustain their livelihoods, impacting the economic stability of these communities. This also threatens the cultural and social fabric of the region that revolves around the fishing sector. ”, read his letter in February this year.
Claiming that the number of arrests is increasing, he added: “In 2023, the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 243 fishermen and seized 37 boats. However, in the last 28 days alone, 88 fishermen and 12 boats were arrested in six incidents.”
Political Hot Button
Following Prime Minister Modi’s comments, the BJP and Congress leaders have clashed over Katchatheevu.
Senior DMK leader RS Bharathi said the Prime Minister has “no achievements” to show and is only spreading “lies”. If Prime Minister Modi wanted Katchatheevu, he could have recaptured that island during his 10 years as president. “Why didn’t he address the Katchatheevu issue?” said Mr. Bharathi.
The argument was supported by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Katchatheevu Island was given to Sri Lanka in 1974 as part of a friendly agreement, Mr Kharge added, noting that the BJP-led government had also undertaken a similar “friendly gesture” towards Bangladesh in the exchange of border enclaves.