“Jaishankar’s Comments Follow PM Modi’s Critique of Congress Over Katchatheevu Handover to Lanka”Doubling down on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charge at Opposition over the Katchatheevu island row, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today said Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first Prime Minister, wanted to give away the island to Sri Lanka.
“In 1974, under the Indira Gandhi government, India accepted the 1.6 km long and over 300 m wide island of Katchatheevu as Sri Lankan territory through an Indo-Sri Lankan maritime agreement. The recent resurgence of the issue follows a media report based on an RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai regarding the 1974 pact. Subsequently, in 1976, during the Emergency period, another agreement was made that restricted fishermen from both countries from fishing in each other’s waters. The ongoing harassment of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Lankan authorities remains a contentious issue in the state, particularly as the BJP raises it in anticipation of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.”
“Speaking to the media today, Dr. Jaishankar referenced former External Affairs Minister Swaran Singh’s 1974 parliamentary address. Quoting Singh, Jaishankar highlighted, ‘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.’
In less than two years, Dr Jaishankar said, there was another agreement between India and Sri Lanka. “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 said.
