Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and Thoothukudi MP M.K. Kanimozhi alleged the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is raking up Katchatheevu now to divert public attention from Chinese encroachment in the Sino-India border.
Kanimozhi told presspersons, “All these years, whenever the DMK raised questions, without answering, Kachchatheevu came to mind [of BJP] only when the opposition pointed to the Sino-Indian border issue during the elections." The DMK has fielded Kanimozhi from Thoothukudi.
The island, 1.6 km long and over 300 m wide, was handed over to Sri Lanka under the Indo-Sri Lankan maritime agreement in 1974. The issue, which has been dominating Tamil Nadu politics for some time, resurfaced again after a media report based on an RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai on the 1974 pact. The replies received by Annamalai revealed informal discussions between then Centre and the DMK government in Tamil Nadu regarding the agreement.
Based on the news reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people's minds- we can't ever trust Congress."
