India’s Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) President K. Selvaperunthagai has slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President K. Annamalai for his recent remarks against former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi regarding the ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Selvaperunthagai defended Indira Gandhi’s decision, describing it as a “strategic step.”
He emphasized that Katchatheevu, an island covering 285 acres and unfit for human habitation, was ceded to Sri Lanka under an agreement that also granted Tamil Nadu fishermen the right to fish in the Wage Bank in Kanniyakumari south, which is under Sri Lankan control.
Selvaperunthagai further questioned Annamalai on what actions the BJP had taken to prevent the arrest of 530 Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities and the auctioning of 73 of their boats.
He challenged the BJP to address these pressing issues affecting the fishermen community.
Earlier this week, Annamalai had lashed out at the Congress and over the ceding of the Katchatheevu islet to Sri Lanka in the 1970s.
