Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu):Unmasking the BJP's claim of protecting Indian fishermen from frequent attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy in and around the Palk Strait, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Friday said the highhandedness of the island Navy had only increased manifold after 2014 when the saffron party came to power at the Centre.
It was the Prime Minister's insinuation on Katchatheevu in the Lok Sabha that prompted Stalin to put the BJP on the mat. Addressing the Fishermen's Conference at Mandapam near Rameswaram in the coastal Ramanathapuram district, he asked what had happened to the poll pledge made by Modi in 2014 to put an end to the plight of the fishermen. He also recalled the promise made by the late Sushma Swaraj ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to retrieve Katchatheevu so as to arrive at a permanent solution to the fishermen's issue.
“But, the atrocities against the fishermen have only increased, particularly after 2014, following the change of government and the BJP coming to power. Apart from attacks, arrests and detentions in prison, impounding of vessels has gone up. It has become habitual for the Lankan government to destroy fishing nets and boats. At the 2014 rally in Ramanathapuram, Modi blamed the weakness of the Congress government,” he said and asked “Has the situation improved any better in the nine years under the BJP rule? Had Modi fulfilled the vow he had taken in Kanniyakumari in the same year to protect the fisher folks?”
“It was Modi, who had said that if they come to power not even a single fisherman will lose his life. But, attacks continued in 2015 and 2016 and in 2017, Britto of Thangachimadam was killed. Even now, it is continuing, despite the Indian government helping Sri Lanka to recover from the economic crisis. The Union government takes action only after I write to them. Since 2020, there have been 48 attacks and 619 fishermen arrested. Of the 83 vessels impounded only 16 were released. In this year alone, 74 fishermen were arrested and 59 were released. But, 67 vessels still remain impounded. If these continue under Modi's rule, it is proof enough that this government is weak,” the Chief Minister said.
The talks so far held with Colombo have failed and a Sri Lankan Minister had claimed that the island Navy has the right to shoot down any fisher trespassing into its waters and nationalise the boats with 122 vessels having been taken over, Stalin pointed out and said the BJP government had to take responsibility for this. In his view, retrieving Katchatheevu alone would put an end to this. Katchatheevu, he said had never been part of Sri Lanka and in 1971, when Colombo staked its claim, the then Chief Minister and his father M Karunanidhi had, armed with historical records and evidence, released a statement in December 1973, making it clear that the islet was part of India. Despite that, it was ceded in June 1974 under a pact between the Prime Ministers of both countries.
“It is a pact and not legislation passed by Parliament. DMK had opposed it. Karunanidhi met the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and pressed for retaining the islet and presented the necessary documentary evidence so that it could be proved in the International Court of Justice. It was Karunanidhi, who foresaw that the ceding of Katchatheevu posed a danger first to Tamil Nadu and he had convened an all-party meeting to register Tamil Nadu's opposition. The AIADMK was the only party to stage a walk-out from the meet, proving that the party consistently has been disloyal to Tamil Nadu. In July 1974, the DMK held public meetings across the state and I addressed the one at Sriperumbudur,” Stalin explained and said it is shameful and condemnable to blame the DMK for this.
Retrieving Katchatheevu alone will bring a lasting solution to the plight of our fishermen, the Chief Minister maintained and urged the Union government to immediately start diplomatic engagement with Colombo to set aside the 1974 pact. “If this government fails to take that initiative, our political strategy would be such that the government that succeeds after the LS polls will fulfil it,” he assured the gathering amid applause.
