BJP bringing up Katchatheevu issue to divert attention from Centre’s failure to secure T.N. fishermen’s rights: TNCC chief

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K. Selvaperunthagai on Saturday said the BJP was raking up the 50-year-old Katchatheevu issue to divert attention away from the Union government’s failure to ensure Tamil fishermen don’t face violence and harrassment from the Sri Lankan Navy.

In a statement, Mr. Selvaperunthagai said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was trying to cover-up the actions of the Sri Lankan Navy against Tamil Nadu fishermen over the last 11 years of BJP rule at the Centre.

He also clarified that Katchatheevu was not ceded to Sri Lanka during Emergency. “The External Affairs Minister has made factually incorrect statements. Emergency was not in effect when the agreement [to cede the island] was signed on June 26, 1974. On July 23, 1974, the then External Affairs Minister Swaran Singh tabled a report in the Lok Sabha and addressed Parliament. All political parties, including the BJP, participated and voiced their opinions,” he said.

“After the Congress government, did Prime Minister Vajpayee, during his six-year tenure, or Prime Minister Modi, during his 11-year rule, ever hold talks with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister about reclaiming Katchatheevu? If Katchatheevu was truly the root cause of the fishermen’s problems, the Indian government should have raised this with Sri Lanka,” Mr. Selvaperunthagai added.

He said: “Tamil Nadu fishermen are not arrested near Katchatheevu. Instead, they are arrested when they unintentionally cross the maritime boundary into Sri Lankan waters, especially during nighttime fishing. Therefore, the BJP government must hold talks with Sri Lanka to secure fishing rights in those waters based on the livelihoods of Tamil Nadu’s fishermen.”