In a recent statement, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar reinforced Prime Minister Narendra Modi's criticism of the Opposition regarding the Katchatheevu island dispute. He claimed that India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had contemplated giving away the island to Sri Lanka.
The issue dates back to 1974 when the Indira Gandhi government agreed to recognize the uninhabited Katchatheevu island as Sri Lankan territory under a maritime agreement. This agreement has come under scrutiny following a media report based on a RTI reply obtained by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. Additionally, in 1976, amidst the Emergency, a pact was signed to restrict fishermen from both countries from fishing in each other's waters after the dismissal of the Tamil Nadu government. The mistreatment of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities remains a contentious issue in the state, especially with the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
While the RTI reply has not been shared by either Mr. Annamalai or the newspaper, the late AIADMK chief and former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had previously criticized the DMK and the Congress over the matter. She had demanded a perpetual lease with Sri Lanka, granting fishing rights to Indian fishermen in Lankan waters, and urged for measures to reclaim the island.
Dr. Jaishankar referenced former External Affairs Minister Swaran Singh's 1974 parliamentary address during a media briefing. He quoted Singh as stating, "I feel confident that the agreement demarcating the maritime boundary in the Palk Bay will be considered as fair, just and equitable to both countries. At the same time, I wish to remind the honourable members that in concluding this agreement, the rights of fishing, pilgrimage and navigation, which both sides have enjoyed in the past, have been fully safeguarded for the future."
Highlighting subsequent developments, Dr. Jaishankar mentioned another agreement between India and Sri Lanka within two years of the first. "In this agreement, India proposed the following: with the establishment of the exclusive economic zones by the two countries, India and Sri Lanka will exercise sovereign rights over the living and non-living resources of their respective zones. The fishing vessels and fishermen of India shall not engage in fishing in the historic waters, the territorial sea and the exclusive zone of Sri Lanka," he elaborated.
