Conceding Katchatheevu was a mistake: Jayalalithaa

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Conceding Katchatheevu was a mistake: Jayalalithaa

Dec. 14: AIADMK general secretary Ms Jayalalithaa on Monday said Union external affairs minister S.M. Krishna's statement that Katchatheevu belonged to Sri Lanka at a time when the matter is before the Supreme Court was most unfortunate. She urged the Centre to retrieve the Katchatheevu island to ensure the safety and livelihood of thousands of Indian fishermen.“Gross ignorance of facts has been the basis on which Katchatheevu was gifted away to Sri Lanka in 1974. And the same ignorance seems to pervade the Central government even today,” said Ms Jayalalithaa in a statement here. “The consequence of this would be nothing short of disaster for Tamil Nadu, particularly for the fishing community,” she said.
She explained the historical background of Katcha-theevu as one islet used by the fishermen of both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka to rest, dry their nets and sort their catch.

She pointed out the existence of historical rec-ords, which say that the islet was the property of the Raja of Ramanathapuram.

“It is evident that in deciding to concede Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka, the Indian government did not take into consideration the consequences of such an act on the thousands of Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu who used the island every day,” said the AIADMK supremo.

“Why has the DMK done nothing to educate Mr Krishna about the importance of Katchatheevu to the fishermen of Tamil Nadu?” she asked. “Gifting away of Katchatheevu was not only a mistake but also erroneous in law. It had been done without obtaining the clearance of Parliament,” she said.

Jaya takes up Katchatheevu | Deccan Chronicle

The Hindu : News / National : Conceding Katchatheevu was a mistake: Jayalalithaa

 

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Union Minister Shri S Jaishankar addresses press conference at BJP Head Office, Delhi

Delhi: On the Katchatheevu issue, EAM Jaishankar says, "... 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... In an observation given by the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru in May 1961, he wrote, 'I attach no importance at all to this little island and I would have no hesitation in giving up our claim to it. I do not like matters like this pending indefinitely and being raised again and again in parliament.' So, to Pandit Nehru, this was a little island, it had no importance, he saw it as a nuisance... For him, the sooner you give it away, the better... This view continued on to Indira Gandhi as well... There is a member of parliament called G. Viswanathan from Tamil Nadu and he says, 'We are worried about Diego Garcia, thousands of miles away from the Indian territory, but we are not worried about this small island. The PM (Indira Gandhi) is said to have remarked in the AICC meeting that this is a little rock. I am reminded of those days when Pandit Nehru called about our northern boundary as a place where not a blade of grass grew. I would like to remind the PM that after this historic statement by PM Nehru, he never regained the confidence of the country. The same is going to happen to the PM (Indira Gandhi) when she says that this is only a little rock and that there is nothing to worry about the territories of our country.'... So, this is not just one PM... This dismissive attitude...was the historic Congress attitude towards Katchatheevu..."