Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of failing to stop attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy despite promising to find a solution during election campaign, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday said retrieval of Katchatheevu island was the only solution for the problems faced by fishermen.

Pointing out that as many as 619 fishermen were arrested in 48 incidents of assault by the Sri Lankan Navy, Stalin reminded Modi of his 2014 campaign speech in Ramanathapuram that he would put an end to such attacks after coming to power and accused the then Congress government of being “weak.”

“The attacks continue under the Narendra Modi regime. What does it mean? It means the Modi government is weak,” Stalin told a fishermen welfare conference in Rameswaram island. Devoting a significant portion of his speech to needle the BJP on the fishermen issue, Stalin said Modi had handed out an assurance that he will not allow the attacks to happen.

However, Stalin said, the attacks on fishermen continue to take place till date and there has been no action from the Indian Government. Of the 83 boats that it impounded in 2023, Sri Lanka has released only 16 of them and the remaining 67 is under its custody.

“The Government of India should cancel the 1974 India-Sri Lanka Agreement and retrieve Katchatheevu. Ceding the island has cost Indian fishermen their traditional rights in the Palk Bay. The Union Government should take steps to cancel the agreement or we will take steps to ensure this happens under a new government in 2024,” Stalin added.

Katchatheevu is a tiny uninhabited island of just 285 acres sandwiched between India and Sri Lanka in the Palk Bay. Originally part of the territory held by the Rajah of Ramanathapuram, Katchatheevu was brought under the Madras Presidency during British rule.

On accusation that DMK kept mum when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka, Stalin said there was no truth in such claims as it was then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi who was the first to voice opposition when Sri Lanka began to claim ownership on the island in 1971.

“Chief Minister Karunanidhi released a statement asserting that Katchatheevu belongs to India in 1973. Indira Gandhi signed the agreement in 1974 despite Karunanidhi’s announcement. This is just an agreement. Our leader opposed the ceding of Katchatheevu by meeting Indira Gandhi after the signing of the agreement,” Stalin added.

(Deccan Herald)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by Deccan Herald has not been edited by SLM staff)