BJP President K. Annamalai on Wednesday criticized the Congress and its Tamil Nadu ally, the ruling DMK, over the 1970s ceding of Katchatheevu islet to Sri Lanka.
He particularly questioned Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief K. Selvaperunthagai’s recent remark describing the decision as a “strategic maneuver” by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
In a video shared on his ‘X’ account, Annamalai tagged a clip of Selvaperunthagai purportedly defending the ceding of the island as a calculated move. “He repeatedly emphasizes how Indians should be grateful to Indira Gandhi.
The DMK and Congress, for the past four decades, have jeopardized the lives of Tamil fishermen through unilateral decisions like gifting away Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka without even tabling the matter in Parliament for discussion in 1974,” Annamalai stated.
Katchatheevu, a 285-acre uninhabited isle about 20 miles north of Dhanushkodi, was ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974 under a bilateral agreement between Indira Gandhi’s administration and then-Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
This move was described as an act of goodwill, later formalized in the 1976 exchange of letters that delineated the maritime boundary in the Sethusamudram region.
Since the start of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 1983, the islet has become a flashpoint for conflicts between Indian Tamil fishermen and the Sri Lankan Navy, often resulting in the loss of lives and livelihoods. Annamalai accused the Congress and DMK of negligence, blaming their decision-making for these continued hardships.
“Katchatheevu sporadically leaps back into attention, the latest instance being Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s indirect reference to it in the Lok Sabha,” Annamalai remarked.
He praised Modi’s efforts to strengthen India’s sovereignty and infrastructure, particularly in regions like Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast, contrasting this with what he described as the Congress’s poor governance.
“Here we have Congress boasting that gifting away an Indian island was a strategic maneuver. Does Selvaperunthagai realize this decision cost the lives of many fishermen, led to arrests, and caused the loss of livelihoods and vessels? Is the Congress not ashamed of justifying such a reckless move? Does Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin share his Congress ally’s opinion?” he questioned.
Annamalai further highlighted the plight of Tamil fishermen, arguing that the DMK and Congress had failed to safeguard their rights and interests over decades. By continuing to justify the ceding of Katchatheevu, he asserted, these parties demonstrated their inability to prioritize the well-being of Indian citizens.
