Jayalalithaa vows to take back Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka
Synopsis
In what is bound to strain India-Sri Lanka relations, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has announced that she will bring an amendment to ensure that the uninhabited island of Katchatheevu is retrieved from the hands of Sri Lankans.
Katchatheevu has been a long-standing pickle for the Central government, with the people in Tamil Nadu often being vocal about claiming ownership of the Sri Lankan island.
Jayalalithaa said she wants a resolution on Katchatheevu Island to be passed in both houses of the parliament. Her response came after Stalin, Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly, highlighted the fact that the central government had not consulted the Tamil Nadu government in 1974 while transferring Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka.
"By passing a resolution in the assembly, the then DMK government headed by (Stalin's father) M. Karunanidhi closed the discussion on the transfer," Jayalalithaa said.
Jayalalithaa also said a Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation resolution moved in 2013 had stated that the DMK government opposed the transfer of Katchatheevu at the very first instance.
After the agreement was signed (between India and Sri Lanka) it was on the DMK government's insistence that conditions like the island's use by Tamil Nadu fishermen to fish and dry their nets were added, Jayalalithaa quoted the TESO resolution.
This past April, DMK chief Karunanidhi had accused Jayalalithaa of “misleading” people on the issue of Katchatheevu".
Taking a defensive stance, Karunanidhi said that any steps to retrieve the island ceded to Sri Lanka have to be taken by the Union Government and that the state governments have no role in the issue.
Katchatheevu is a 285-acre island off Rameswaram in the narrow Palk Strait that divides Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. It was once part of Ramanathapuram district.
After bilateral agreements in 1974 and 1976, Katchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka. The sea near the island is said to be rich in marine life, leading to frequent clashes between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen.