Annamalai has said, “Katchatheevu was given to Sri Lanka with the consent of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi…Now, the BJP has given a letter to EAM Jaishankar to get back Katchatheevu. It should be brought back to India; this is our stand. Centre is trying everything possible to bring back Katchatheevu to protect fishermen.”

Sri Lankan minister Jeevan Thondaman has denied receiving official communications from India regarding the Katchatheevu but asserted that the island remains in its territory.

“As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, Katchatheevu island falls within the Sri Lankan line of control….So far, there has not been an official communication from India to return the powers of Katchatheevu island….If there is such a communication, the foreign ministry will reply to that,” Jeevan Thondaman was quoted as saying by an The Indian Express article.

‘NO ONE CAN DEMAND A CHANGE’: SRI LANKA MINISTER

Another minister has also put his weight behind Jeevan Thondaman’s statements on the Katchatheevu island on maintaining national boundaries, saying they “cannot be changed as per wishes”, the article mentioned.

Speaking with The Indian Express, the minister said, “Katchatheevu was formally recognised inside Sri Lanka’s line of control. Once the boundary is decided, no one can demand a change just because of a change in government.”

Apart from Annamalai, a party leader, too, has claimed that the BJP leadership will be making a major announcement on the Katchatheevu island which came into narrative when the party unit chief visited Sri Lanka in 2022 and PM Modi accused the Congress of giving it away in 1974. EAM Jaishankar, too, has doubled down on PM Modi’s allegations on the Congress.

S Jaishankar put his weight on the allegations, saying “they 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.

Keeping Lok Sabha elections aside, will the Katchatheevu island issue “damage” India’s relations with a neighbouring country? A former diplomat think so. 

Taking to social media platform X, KC Singh slammed Jaishankar and said, “India raising #Kachchatheevu is domestic politics stumping diplomacy & relations with Sri Lanka. That a seasoned diplomat like @DrSJaishankar is mouthing it damages his image.”

“It can push Sri Lanka back into Chinese arms like Maldives, while begetting BJP little gain in South,” he said.

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Published: 02 Apr 2024, 01:02 PM IST