Doubling down on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cost at Opposition over the Katchatheevu island row, Exterior Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar right now mentioned Jawaharlal Nehru, the nation’s first Prime Minister, needed to present away the island to Sri Lanka.
In 1974, the then Indira Gandhi authorities had accepted the island, about 1.6 km lengthy and over 300 m huge, a Sri Lankan space beneath Indo-Sri Lankan maritime settlement. The difficulty has resurfaced after a media report based mostly on a RTI reply obtained by Tamil Nadu BJP chief Ok Annamalai on the 1974 pact. In 1976, after the Tamil Nadu authorities was dismissed throughout the Emergency, one other pact restricted fishermen of each international locations from fishing in one another’s waters. The harassment of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Lankan authorities is a key difficulty within the state, and the BJP has raised this with an eye fixed on the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing the media, Dr Jaishankar right now quoted former Exterior Affairs Minister Swaran Singh’s 1974 tackle in Parliament. “I really feel assured that the settlement demarcating the maritime boundary within the Palk Bay might be thought of as honest, simply and equitable to each international locations. On the similar time, I want to remind the honourable members that in concluding this settlement, the rights of fishing, pilgrimage and navigation, which each side have loved previously, have been absolutely safeguarded for the long run,” he mentioned, quoting the previous minister.
In lower than two years, Dr Jaishankar mentioned, there was one other settlement between India and Sri Lanka. “On this settlement, India proposed the next: with the institution of the unique financial zones by the 2 international locations, India and Sri Lanka will train sovereign rights over the dwelling and non-living assets of their respective zones. The fishing vessels and fishermen of India shall not have interaction in fishing within the historic waters, the territorial sea and the unique zone of Sri Lanka,” he mentioned.
“(In) 1974, assurance is given. By 1976, an settlement is concluded which provides away this assurance,” he mentioned.
The consequence, he mentioned, is that 6,184 Indian fishermen have been detained within the final 20 years. In the identical interval, 1,175 Indian fishing vessels have been seized by Lankans, he added.
The Katchatheevu difficulty, he mentioned, has been repeatedly raised in Parliament by numerous events over the previous 5 years. “In truth, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has written to me quite a few instances. My report reveals that I’ve replied to the present Chief Minister (MK Stalin) 21 instances on this difficulty. This isn’t a problem which has all of a sudden surfaced. This can be a reside difficulty,” he mentioned.
The Congress and DMK, he mentioned, have approached the matter “as if they haven’t any accountability”. “We consider that the general public has a proper to understand how this case happened.”
“We all know who did this, how the state of affairs arose. What we have no idea is who hid this, what has been hid from the general public,” he mentioned.
India’s declare, he mentioned, is especially that the Kathatheevu island belonged to the Raja of Ramnad and that he had it from the British period. Afterward, his rights moved to the Madras authorities. “The Indian view was additionally that there was no documentary proof that Sri Lanka had an unique title,” he mentioned, including that the Sri Lankan argument was that they’ve information going again to the seventeenth century.
After each India and Sri Lanka grew to become impartial, he mentioned, there have been points between these international locations about utilizing this island. In 1974, Dr Jaishankar, mentioned then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Mrs Gandhi spoke about this on the latter’s journey to India.
In 1958, then Legal professional Basic MC Setalvad mentioned in a authorized opinion that whereas the matter is just not free from problem, “the steadiness lies in favour of concluding that the sovereignty of the island was and is in India”, Dr Jaishankar mentioned.
The important thing folks, he mentioned, had been of the opinion that “we’ve a case” and felt that we should at the very least insist for fishing rights across the island. “The island was additionally given away in 1974 and the fishing rights in 1976,” he mentioned.
“How did this occur has many facets to it. One is the indifference proven by the central authorities and Prime Ministers of the day in regards to the territory of India. The very fact is, they merely didn’t care,” Dr Jaishankar mentioned.
Quoting an statement by Prime Minister Nehru in Might 1961, he mentioned, “I connect no significance in any respect to this little island and I might haven’t any hesitation in giving up our declare to it. I don’t like issues like this pending indefinitely and being raised time and again in Parliament.”
“So, to Pandit Nehru, this was a little bit island, he noticed it as a nuisance. For him, the earlier you give it away, the higher,” the minister mentioned.
This view, he mentioned, continued within the Indira Gandhi period. Mrs Gandhi, he mentioned, had remarked in a Congress assembly that this island was a “little rock”. “This dismissive perspective was the historic Congress perspective in direction of Katchatheevu.”
The Exterior Affairs Minister’s press interplay got here after Prime Minister Modi focused the Congress for “callously” freely giving the island to Lanka.
“Eye-opening and startling! New information reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered each Indian and reaffirmed in folks’s minds – we won’t ever belief Congress,” he mentioned on X, sharing the report.” Sharing a media report that mentioned Mrs Gandhi had taken then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi into confidence with regard to the choice on the island, the Prime Minister mentioned DMK has “carried out nothing” to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s pursuits.
Congress’s Manickam Tagore hit again, calling the BJP’s cost on the difficulty a “diversionary tactic”. “The issue with BJP, RSS and PM Modi is that individuals are rejecting them in Tamil Nadu they usually need a diversionary tactic… The federal government of India headed by Indira Gandhi signed an settlement referred to as the Indira Gandhi-Sirimavo Bandaranaike settlement in that point to save lots of 6 lakh Tamils and to save lots of them, this island was given to the Sri Lankan authorities. We’re very clear that if our fishermen are attacked, we are going to increase our voices to take again Katchatheevu Island. However, in 10 years, Prime Minister Modi has failed to take action. They won’t get even one seat in Tamil Nadu by these low-cost ways,” he mentioned.
DMK’s A Saravanan mentioned the Exterior Affairs Minister has mentioned nothing new. “The query is why the BJP is raking up this difficulty now. As a result of they’re scared, they know they’re going to lose this election and in Tamil Nadu, they’re dealing with a rout. The Prime Minister can not reply the query, why no flood reduction for Tamil Nadu. He’s now citing false bogeys,” he mentioned.
