 "priyanka chaturvedi")
Amid the ongoing Katchatheevu controversy, Shiv Sena (Uddhav camp) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday alleged “discrepancies” in the latest RTI response, citing the 2015 reply on the same.
In a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Chaturvedi demanded the external affairs ministry to address the “discrepancies” in the two responses.
“As per the RTI response in 2015 when the current Foreign Minister was serving as the FS it was said, ‘This did not involve either acquiring or ceding territory belonging to India since the area in question had never been demarcated. Under the Agreements, the Island of Katchatheevu lies on the Sri Lankan side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line,'” she said.
Maybe @MEAIndia will be able to address this discrepancies in its RTI response in 2015 vis a vis 2024.
— Priyanka Chaturvedi???????? (@priyankac19) April 1, 2024
As per the RTI response in 2015 when current Foreign Minister was serving as the FS it was said “This did not involve either acquiring or ceding of territory belonging to India… pic.twitter.com/OIWlej3YVs
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The Sena leader further asked if the Centre’s change in stance has been accommodated due to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“Today, the foreign minister and yesterday the PM claimed it has been ‘ceded.’ So, is the change in stance for their election politics or has Modi made a case for Sri Lanka?” she asked.
What is the Katchatheevu controversy?
The issue has become the latest flashpoint between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The recent RTI reply, sought by BJP Tamil Nadu president Annamali, said that the 285-acre uninhabited island was ‘ceded’ to Sri Lanka by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government in 1974.
The issue has remained contentious in Tamil Nadu politics, particularly due to attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. The DMK was in power in the southern state then.
Jaishankar holds press conference on Katchatheevu issue
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, in a press conference earlier today, alleged that the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was kept fully informed about the agreement. In 20 years, 6,184 Indian fishermen have been detained by Sri Lanka and their 1,175 fishing vessels seized by the neighbouring country, he said.
The agreement followed under the Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement between Indira Gandhi and her counterpart Srimavo Bandaranaike, aimed at resolving the maritime boundaries in the Palk Strait.
Kharge alleges ‘election trigger’ behind controversy
On the row, the Congress has accused the BJP of “distorting” the history.
Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, in a post on ‘X’, said, “You have suddenly woken up to the issues of territorial integrity and national security in your tenth year of misrule. Perhaps, elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable.”
“Under your government, in a friendly gesture, 111 enclaves from India were transferred to Bangladesh, and 55 enclaves came to India. In 1974, a similar agreement, based on friendly gestures, was initiated with another country - Sri Lanka on Katchatheevu,” he said.
Kharge further accused the Modi government of raking the issue deliberately on account of elections.
“On the eve of elections in Tamil Nadu, you are raising this sensitive issue, but your own government's Attorney General, Shri Mukul Rohtagi, in 2014, told the following to the Supreme Court, ‘Katchatheevu went to Sri Lanka by an agreement in 1974… How can it be taken back today? If you want Katchatheevu back, you will have to go to war to get it back,” he said.
He further cornered Modi on the Galwan row with China and other issues, suggesting him to reflect on his “own misdeeds.”
