New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr. Jaishankar on Monday hit out at the Congress and DMK saying that the parties approached the Katchatheevu issue as though they "bear no responsibility". He stressed on the matter that the public has the right to know how Katchatheevu was given away.
Addressing the media briefing here at BJP HQ, New Delhi, Jaishankar, said, "We know who did this, what we don't know is who hid it... The public has the right to know how Katchatheevu island was given to Sri Lanka, and why even the fishing rights of Indian fishermen were also given up in 1976 after giving an assurance to the Parliament that the fishing rights of Indians in the 1974 agreement had been safeguarded."
"In 1974, India and Sri Lanka concluded an agreement where they drew a maritime boundary, and in drawing the maritime boundary, Katchatheevu was put on the Sri Lankan side of the boundary," he added.
He noted that India needs to sit with Sri Lankan authorities and find a solution. "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", he added.
He said, "That fact is they simply did not care... In an observation given by the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru in May 1961, he wrote, 'I attach no importance at all to this little island and I would have no hesitation in giving up our claim to it. I do not like matters like this pending indefinitely and being raised again and again in parliament.'
He reiterated that so to Pandit Nehru, this was a little island, it had no importance, and he saw it as a nuisance... For him, the sooner you give it away, the better... This view continued with Indira Gandhi as well...
"There is a member of parliament called G. Viswanathan from Tamil Nadu and he says, 'We are worried about Diego Garcia, thousands of miles away from the Indian territory, but we are not worried about this small island. The PM (Indira Gandhi) is said to have remarked in the AICC meeting that this is a little rock", he added.
"I am reminded of those days when Pandit Nehru called about our northern boundary as a place where not a blade of grass grew. I would like to remind the PM that after this historic statement by PM Nehru, he never regained the confidence of the country. The same is going to happen to the PM (Indira Gandhi) when she says that this is only a little rock and that there is nothing to worry about the territories of our country.'... So, this is not just one PM... This dismissive attitude...was the historic Congress attitude towards Katchatheevu", he pointed out.
He said, that in the last 20 years, 6184 Indian fishermen have been detained by Sri Lanka and 1175 Indian fishing vessels have been seized, detained, or apprehended by Sri Lanka. This is the background of the issue that we are discussing."
He said, "DMK questions handing over Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka, claims Tamil Nadu govt not consulted; the fact is it was kept fully informed."
Lambasting Congress & DMK for their attitude towards the issue, he said, "Congress & DMK have approached this matter as though they have no responsibility for this."
Meanwhile, PM Modi slammed DMK and said, "Rhetoric aside, DMK has done NOTHING to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests. New details emerging on #Katchatheevu have UNMASKED the DMK’s double standards".
"Congress and DMK are family units. They only care that their sons and daughters rise. They don’t care for anyone else. Their callousness on Katchatheevu has harmed the interests of our poor fishermen and fisherwomen in particular," he posted on X.
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