Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday (31) slammed the Congress for "callously" giving away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in the 1970s.
PM Modi, sharing a news article which gave a detailed account of events that led to Sri Lanka overtaking the island, wrote on X that the Congress party can't be trusted.
"Eye opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds- we can’t ever trust Congress," he wrote on X.
He also accused the Congress of weakening India's unity.
"Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting," he added.
The article claims former PM (late) Jawaharlal Nehru had dismissed the issue as inconsequential. It also claimed that the article was given up despite the Opposition's staunch protest against the decision.
Last year, PM Modi had said in the Parliament that the India Gandhi government had given the Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka in 1974.
"These people divided mother India into three parts for politics..," PM Modi had said in the Lok Sabha.
"Katchatheevu is an island between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Somebody gave it to another country. It happened under the leadership of Indira Gandhi," he had said.
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.
PM Modi also raised the issue in a recent rally in Tamil Nadu.
Earlier this month, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin alleged that the Prime Minister had "blatantly lied" in his rally at Kanyakumari on March 15 that Tamil Nadu fishermen were facing trouble from Sri Lanka only due to the past "sin" of the DMK.
"The Tamil Nadu people know the true history pretty well; that the Katchatheevu island was ceded (1974, 1976 agreements) to Sri Lanka despite the stiff opposition of the DMK government. Is the Prime Minister naive to the extent of believing that a state government can give away a portion of the country to another country," Stalin wrote in a post on X.
(hindustantimes.com)
