Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited a media report today to assert that new facts reveal that the Congress had “callously” given away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka.
“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,” he said on X, sharing the report.
“Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting,” he said.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi claimed that the decision of the then Congress government at the Centre is why Tamil Nadu fishermen are captured and imprisoned by Lankans as they wander to the island, just 25 km off the state’s coast.
The island was with India till 1975, he said. Tamil Nadu’s fishermen would go there earlier but India’s agreement with Lanka barred them from doing so, he added.
Unfortunately, neither the DMK nor the Congress is raising the issue but PM Modi because he is committed to the country and its people, he said.
The BJP is hopeful that the issue will help the party gain political traction in the Dravidian territory ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, more so as it involves neighbouring Sri Lanka whose treatment of its Tamil people has long been a charged political issue in the state.
The report is based on an RTI reply Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai received on the decision of Indira Gandhi’s government in 1974 to hand over the territory in the Palk Strait to the island country.
The report also cited first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s saying that he would have no hesitation in giving up claims to the island. The issue has been a source of dispute between India and Lanka.
In a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Mr Trivedi asked why he is silent on the issue and said he should tell people that his party and his family are responsible for this.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
