‘No courage to censure Sri Lanka, oppose China’: Tamil Nadu CM Stalin slams PM Modi over Katchatheevu issue

Katchatheevu island row: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the ruling BJP has done a somersault on the Katchatheevu island issue since the elections are round the corner. At an election rally on Tuesday, Stalin said that the BJP government and PM Modi do not have the courage to take on China for its claims over Arunachal Pradesh or Sri Lanka for fishermen arrests. 

The DMK president criticised PM Modi for staging a drama and coming up with stories on Katchatheevu issue. He said that the disclosures by the central government under the RTI Act are “wrong information”. He questioned how can the government give ‘wrong information’ concerning the nation’s security under the RTI Act to an individual belonging to BJP – BJP’s Tamil Nadu state chief K Annamalai. 

Stalin claimed that BJP in 2015 had stated that Katchatheevu was never a part of India and that information was provided by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who was the foreign secretary then. 

"Since the elections are round the corner, they have changed the information as per their wish. Why this somersault? Has PM Modi, during his 10-year tenure, who is now talking on Katchatheevu, ever condemned Sri Lanka over the arrest of fishermen and the instances of firing against them? Why did he not do that," Stalin asked. 

He asked why PM Modi did not say anything on China that is claiming Arunachal Pradesh as its territory. "There is no courage to censure Sri Lanka. There is no courage to oppose China. How can you talk about Katchatheevu?" he asked.

Stalin said that BJP had told the Supreme Court that war with Sri Lanka is the only way to have Katchatheevu back. 

The DMK chief also brought up PM Modi’s 2022 Sri Lanka visit and asked if he conveyed to Sri Lanka that the island belonged to India. “Modi did not remember Katchatheevu during his foreign visit,” Stalin said.

In 2022, when PM Modi had visited Chennai, Stalin claimed that he sought the retrieval of Katchatheevu. "Do you remember that," he asked, referring to PM Modi. He also wondered how the Centre furnished information on such important matter within four working days.