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'Eye opening, startling': PM Modi on Congress giving away Kathchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka

'Eye opening, startling': PM Modi on Congress giving away Kathchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka

Narendra Modi's response came after a Right to Information (RTI) revealed how the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government handed over the Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka.

Business Today Desk
Business Today Desk
  • Updated Mar 31, 2024 11:46 AM IST
'Eye opening, startling': PM Modi on Congress giving away Kathchatheevu Island to Sri LankaThe Prime Minister further said in in his post on X (formerly Twitter) that this has been the Congress' way of working for 75 years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday stirred a hornet's nest when he revealed that the Congress party "callously" gave away the Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka. He also accused the party of "weakening" India's integrity and interests. 

The Prime Minister further said in in his post on X (formerly Twitter) that this has been the Congress' way of working for 75 years. Modi's response came after a Right to Information (RTI) revealed how the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government handed over the Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka.

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Calling the RTI report "eye-opening and startling", PM Modi said in a post on X: "Eye-opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people's minds- we can't ever trust Congress." 

The issue of the Katchatheevu Island has been a source of long-standing dispute between India and Sri Lanka. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said these revelations show the Congress "are against the unity and integrity of India." 

"Slow claps for Congress! 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," Shah said in a post on X. 

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Where is the Katchatheevu Island located? 

The island is where Tamil Nadu's fishermen in districts like Rameswaram go as Indian waters are facing a shortage of fish. The fishermen cross the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) to enter the island but get detained by the Sri Lankan Navy. 

What do the documents say?

The documents have been acquired by Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai through the RTI report. These documents prove how Sri Lanka persisted with its claims to take over the Katchatheevu Island, having 1.9 square kilometres of land and situated around 20 kilometres from the Indian shore, The Times of India reported. 

The report cited first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru saying he would not hesitate in giving up India's claims to the island. The report also stated that the then foreign secretary Kewal Singh conveyed the decision to hand over the Katchatheevu Island to then Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi in 1975.

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In this communication, Singh mentioned the zamindari rights of the Raja of Ramnad/Ramnathapuram. He also talked about the failure of Sri Lanka to show evidence to prove its claim of holding the island. Singh, however, also said Sri Lanka had a "very determined position" on Katchatheevu, citing "records" that showed the island as a part of the kingdom of Jaffnapatnam, Dutch and British maps. 

As per these documents acquired by Annamalai, Kewal Singh furthermore said Sri Lanka (previously Ceylon) had been staking its sovereignty over the island since 1925 without any protest from India. To substantiate his point further, Singh cited an opinion by attorney MC Setalvad who said Katchatheevu "was and is with Sri Lanka and not India."

Congress vs BJP war of words

The revelations triggered a war of words between the BJP and the Congress. Senior Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said that the Prime Minister has brought this matter out in public "because elections are going on in Tamil Nadu". He added that all the surveys so far show the BJP "will be badly smashed" in the southern state. 

"Can't trust Congress, they gave away Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka" tweet, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit says, "The problem with the PM is he makes statements without any references. If any agreement like this was made, we should know what it was... Secondly, what PM was doing for 9 years then? If he was in a position of this information, why was the PM quiet about it all this while? 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. 

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Commenting on these revelations, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that these documents show "the Congress party has always thought of breaking India into hundreds of pieces". 

""Congress has always believed in the politics of divide and rule and breaking this country... The kind of evidence that has come out through RTI is that in 1974 how the first family Congress, be it Nehru ji or Indira ji, they were enthusiastic about giving the Katchatheevu island on a platter. However, the legal and historical evidence was in our favour. And all this has been documented. This shows that the Congress Party has always thought of breaking India into hundreds of pieces," Poonawalla said. 

Published on: Mar 31, 2024 11:36 AM IST
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