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Annamalai said giving away the ‘important piece of Bharat’ has caused troubles for Tamil Nadu’s “fishermen brothers and sisters”. In a video posted on Sunday, he trained guns on the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for “colluding in the ceding of Katchatheevu by Sri Lanka”.
Several BJP leaders, including top leadership such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmatharaman reacted to the report, slamming the Congress. This prompted sharp response from Congress leaders and a DMK spokesperson. Here’s what key leaders said on Sunday:
PM Modi: He reacted to the news exclaiming, “Eye opening and startling!“. PM Modi said new facts reveal how the “Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu”. He added in the post, “This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds- we can’t ever trust Congress! Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting.”
Amit Shah: He took a jibe at the Opposition party, saying, “Slow claps for Congress!” The Union home minister tweeted, “They willingly gave up Katchatheevu and had no regrets about it either. Sometimes an MP of the Congress speaks about dividing the nation and sometimes they denigrate Indian culture and traditions. This shows that they are against the unity and integrity of India. They only want to divide or break our nation.”
BJP national chief JP Nadda: He said, “This is appalling but frankly, it isn’t surprising. It is a part of Congress’ work culture to give up Indian territory given the slightest opportunity. The RTI reply to Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai reveals a shocking saga of deliberate negligence which led to Katchatheevu being given by India.”
Nirmala Sitharaman: “The fact that came out through the Right to Information Act to the question of the Chairman K Annamalai, Kachchadivu changed hands in 1976. In June 1974, the then Chief Minister Mr. Karunanidhi had informed them,” the finance minister tweeted in Tamil.
Kangana Ranaut: The Bollywood actor and BJP candidate for Mandi Lok Sabha seat quoted then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s response to the issue.
How Opposition reacted
Congress: Congress leaders called PM Modi’s remark “selective pieces of propaganda” and questioned the work done under the 10 years of the BJP-led central government.
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said that PM Modi’s statement is all because of the elections in Tamil Nadu, where all the “surveys show the BJP will be badly smashed.”
“The problem with the Prime Minister is that he makes statements without any references. If any agreement like this was made, we should know what it was. Secondly, what was the Prime Minister doing for 9 years then? If he was in a position of this information, why was he quiet about it all this while?,” he was quoted by PTI as saying.
“These are selective pieces of propaganda that they fake out. It is all because elections are going on in Tamil Nadu. All the surveys show the BJP will be badly smashed in Tamil Nadu,” Dikshit said.
Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai asked PM Modi to give a white paper report in connection to the work done by the present government over the last 10 years.
Selvaperunthagai said, “…First, you should ask (PM) Modi what is happening on China border. How many square kilometres of area has been captured by China in Arunachala Pradesh, Ladakh? Ask him to give a white paper report. He should tell what his government has done in the last 10 years. They have done nothing… “
DMK: DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai found it “strange that the Prime Minister has only now found out that Katchatheevu was ceded away in 1974”. He asked the PM “what has he done in the last 10 years to retrieve Katchatheevu?”
“Yes it was done by the Congress in 1974…people threw away the Congress in 2014 preciously because of this but after coming to power, what has BJP done now? Has the PM done his little bit to retrieve the island?…,” Annadurai told news agency ANI.
Referring to PM Modi, he said, “The Viswaguru can’t even get us back a small island Katchatheevu which is very important for the fishermen of Tamil Nadu”.
#WATCH | On PM Modi's "Can't trust Congress, they gave away Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka" tweet, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai says, " It is strange that the Prime Minister has only now found out that Katchatheevu was ceded away in 1974, we would like to ask the Prime… pic.twitter.com/cVIunS319H
— ANI (@ANI) March 31, 2024
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Published: 31 Mar 2024, 07:47 PM IST
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