New Delhi: A former diplomat has contradicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the row over Katchatheevu, saying the decision taken by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to recognise Sri Lanka's sovereignty over the island in 1974 was "correct" and in the "national interest".
Recently, Prime Minister Modi slammed DMK and Congress over the Katchatheevu issue and said, "Rhetoric aside, DMK has done nothing to safeguard Tamil Nadu's interests. New details emerging on Katchatheevu have unmasked the DMK's double standards."
"Congress and DMK are family units. They only care that their sons and daughters rise. They don’t care for anyone else. Their callousness on Katchatheevu has harmed the interests of our poor fishermen and fisherwomen in particular," Modi said in a post on X on April 1.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, the former senior Indian diplomat, who accompanied ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to Sri Lanka in late 80s, said, "It was a correct decision by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi taken in the national interest and had the concurrence of the state (Tamil Nadu) government".
"The tiny island of Katchatheevu, which is located on the Indian corner, has no geopolitical significance unless Sri Lanka decides to cede it to China. There are no negative strategic ramifications for the small island near Sri Lanka. The Chinese already have access to the Hambantota port in Colombo, and Katchatheevu is a little (small) area," the former diplomat told ETV Bharat on condition of anonymity.
PM Modi and other BJP leaders trained guns at the Congress alleging that the party had given Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka as they did not consider the island important. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took a jibe at the Congress, claiming that the party's then-prime ministers showed disregard for Katchatheevu Island and handed over Indian fishermen's rights despite opposing legal opinions.
Jaishankar, in a press conference on April 1, said Prime Ministers like Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi dubbed Katchatheevu, given to Sri Lanka in 1974 as part of a maritime boundary agreement, as a "little island" and "little rock", asserting that the issue has not cropped up abruptly but was always a live matter.
The former diplomat said the current row over the island was "solely political". "This matter has gained attention only to demonstrate how Mrs Gandhi and Congress handled Tamil Nadu's or the country's interests. M Karunanidhi, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, never voiced dissent about it. I believe it is solely political and there has been no security breach," he said.
Where is Katchatheevu Island?
Located in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka, Katchatheevu is a small, uninhabited island of 285 acres. At its widest point, it is barely over 300 meters wide and no longer than 1.6 kilometres long. It is located roughly 33 kilometres from the Indian coast, northeast of Rameswaram. It is located in the northern tip of Sri Lanka, approximately 62 km southwest of Jaffna, and 24 kilometres from the populated island of Delft, which is part of Sri Lanka. St. Anthony's Church, a Catholic shrine built in the early 20th century, is the only building on the island.
The island was ruled by Sri Lanka's Jaffna monarchy throughout the early Middle Ages. About 55 kilometres northwest of Ramanathapuram, the Ramnad Zamindari took over in the 17th century.
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