"As though they have no responsibility for it": EAM Jaishankar hits out at Congress, DMK on Katchatheevu issue

New Delhi [India], April 1 : A tiny island between India and Sri Lanka on the Palk Straight has become the hot button issue in Indian politics. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed the issue on Monday and hit out at the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), saying that they are approaching the matter as they have no responsibility for it.

"Now, every political party in Tamil Nadu has taken a position on this. Two parties, the Congress and the DMK, have approached this matter as though they have no responsibility for it. As though the situation is for today's central government to resolve, there is no history to this, this has just happened, they are the people who are taking up the cause; that is the way they would like to project it," EAM said addressing a press conference.

"In the last 20 years, 6184 Indian fishermen have been detained by Sri Lanka and 1175 Indian fishing vessels have been seized, detained or apprehended by Sri Lanka. This is the background of the issue that we are discussing. In the last five years, the Katchatheevu issue and the Fisherman's issue have been repeatedly raised by various parties in the Parliament. It has come up in parliament questions, debates and in the consultative committee," he added.

Describing the significance of the issue, EAM Jaishankar also said that he has replied 21 times on this issue to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and is much debated in the parliament as well.

"The then CM of Tamil Nadu has written to me numerous times. And my record shows that to the current CM, I have replied 21 times on this issue. This is not an issue which has suddenly surfaced. This is a live issue. It is an issue which has been very much debated in parliament and in the Tamil Nadu circles. It has been the subject of correspondence between the union government and the state government," he said.

"We are talking about 1958 and 1960... The main people in the case wanted to make sure that at least we should get the fishing rights... The island was given away in 1974 and the fishing rights were given away in 1976... One, the most basic recurring (aspect) is the indifference shown by the then central government and the PMs about the territory of India... That fact is they simply did not care..." he added.

It is pertinent to mention that the island, located between Rameswaram (India) and Sri Lanka, was traditionally used by both Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen.

In 1974, then prime minister Indira Gandhi accepted Katchatheevu as Sri Lankan territory under the "Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement".

The 1974 Agreement regarding historic waters between Sri Lanka and India in the Palk Strait and the Palk Bay formally confirmed Sri Lanka's sovereignty over the Island.