All posts tagged: Katchatheevu

Congress ‘surrendered’ Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka without consulting stakeholders: BJP

Congress ‘surrendered’ Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka without consulting stakeholders: BJP

Published by Parlour News

Senior National Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Sudhanshu Trivedi. File. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday (June 26, 2026) targeted the Congress over what it called the “surrender” of Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka during its rule on June 26, 1974, without taking any stakeholders into confidence. Addressing the media, BJP MP and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi called it a “black spot” in the entire history of the “Congress’s record of surrenders”. “It began with surrendering to the Muslim League, the creator of Pakistan, in 1947; then surrendering Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) to Pakistan; then surrendering Aksai Chin to China. It almost surrendered Assam to China and also lost access to Mansarovar,” he said. “On June 26, 1974, the Congress government surrendered Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. None of the stakeholders were taken into confidence. Fishermen today face enormous difficulties due to this. Even the Catholic community, which earlier visited there for the St. Anthony shrine, is not allowed to have the Indian flag on their boats,” said …

Nearly 4,000 pilgrims set sail for Katchatheevu islet to participate in annual two-day festival

Nearly 4,000 pilgrims set sail for Katchatheevu islet to participate in annual two-day festival

Published by Parlour News

Rameswaram Feb 27 Nearly 4,000 Indian pilgrims on Friday set sail for the uninhabited Katchatheevu islet to participate in the annual two-day festival, which will officially commence at 4 pm at the St Antony’s Church, officials said. Nearly 4,000 pilgrims set sail for Katchatheevu islet to participate in annual two-day festival The festival marks a significant moment of shared cultural and religious heritage between India and Sri Lanka. The first batch of devotees was flagged off from the Rameswaram fishing harbour at approximately 6 am by Ramanathapuram District Collector Simranjeet Singh Kahlon. According to official records, a total of 3,996 registered pilgrims comprising 3,033 men, 726 women, and 150 children are crossing the Palk Strait in a fleet of 118 boats, which includes 92 mechanised trawlers and 26 country boats. The festival will officially commence with a traditional flag-hoisting ceremony. This will be followed by the ‘Way of the Cross’ procession and a late-night chariot festival, where the statue of the patron saint will be carried around the shrine by Sri Lankan Navy personnel, sources …

In seat facing Lanka, highlight is OPS’s fight, not Sethusamudram or Katchatheevu | Political Pulse News

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LOCATED deep in southern Tamil Nadu, a state where it is just beginning to make an impact, Ramanathapuram has long been on the BJP’s radar. Under the UPA government at the Centre, it waged a battle against the Sethusamudram project to create a shipping route between India and Sri Lanka, whose one end would have touched Ramanathapuram, claiming it would destroy the bridge Lord Ram’s army made as per the Ramayana. Last year, a buzz began that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose government has been making extensive outreach to Tamils, would contest from Ramanathapuram. Once the Lok Sabha poll battle began, the BJP rolled out yet another dice – accusing the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government of giving away Katchatheevu island located 33 km off the Ramanathapuram coast, and the ruling DMK (which was also in power in the state then) of being complicit in the decision. O Pannerselvam addressing a poll rally at Devipattinam, a coastal village near Ramanathapuram, on Tuesday evening. (Photo: Arun Janardhanan) In the Ramanathapuram constituency itself, which directly faces Sri Lanka, …

PM Modi attacks Congress, DMK on Katchatheevu, `Shakti` remarks

Published by Webster

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Congress and its ally, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, on Katchatheevu and `Shakti` remarks, accusing them of keeping the “country in the dark” over the island issue and charged them with ill-treatment of women. He especially singled out the DMK over alleged corruption, saying the Dravidian party had the “first copyright” on the issue and added the “family” was intent on looting the state, in an apparent reference to the party`s first family, headed by its president and Chief Minister M K Stalin. “The DMK has the first copyright on corruption, the entire family is looting Tamil Nadu,” he said at an election rally here, while canvassing votes for NDA candidates, including BJP nominees for the April 19 Lok Sabha elections in the state. He further charged the DMK with being “a family company,” that was impeding the progress of the state`s youth with its “old mindset.” “DMK divides people over language, region, faith and caste. DMK knows that the day people see …

“Anybody Lives On The Island?” Congress Leader Digvijaya Singh’s Katchatheevu Counter

Published by Webster

Katchatheevu is a tiny uninhabited island between India and Sri Lankan mainlands. New Delhi: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for raising the Katchatheevu issue again, and sought to know if anyone lives on the island. PM Modi raised the Katchatheevu row at an election rally in Tamil Nadu this morning, saying that the Congress and DMK kept the state in the dark for many years. #WATCH | Bhopal: On Prime Minister Modi’s statement regarding Kachchatheevu island, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh says, “Does anybody live on that island? I want to ask…” pic.twitter.com/5XnwSNg2hC — ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2024 When asked about his response to the Prime Minister’s remarks, Mr Singh said, “I want to ask if anybody lives on that island.” Katchatheevu, a tiny uninhabited island between India and Sri Lankan mainlands, shot back into the limelight last week after the BJP accused the Indira Gandhi-led government of giving it away to Sri Lanka in 1974. In 1976, after the Tamil Nadu government was dismissed during the …

Katchatheevu controversy: Why international agreements are best left alone in domestic politics | Explained News

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After Prime Minister Narendra Modi amplified an RTI reply on Katchatheevu obtained by Tamil Nadu BJP leader K Annamalai by accusing Indira Gandhi’s government of “callously giving away” the island to Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated the talking points in the issue — but did not go further. Asked whether the Indian government intended to “reopen” the 1974 bilateral pact on Katchatheevu, the diplomat-turned politician said the issue was “sub judice” — referring to a petition filed in the Supreme Court by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. While the controversy is being viewed as a political brownie-point-scoring exercise by the BJP against the DMK and Congress in Tamil Nadu, it has sparked disquiet in the strategic community both in New Delhi and Colombo — especially since it has the imprimatur of the Prime Minister himself. Katchatheevu map. Basis of international pacts When two governments negotiate an agreement, they work with information and understanding of the issue available at the time. In making the best possible decision, governments also take into …

Political slugfest brings spotlight on remote Katchatheevu island | Latest News India

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It seems like everyday business with the smell of salty sea water and fish at the boat jetty in Tamil Nadu’s Rameshwaram but there is a new spirited chatter here on Katchatheevu island — only about 16 nautical miles from this point — which has come into focus after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a fortnight before Tamil Nadu goes to polls on April 19, blamed the Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (then led by Indira Gaandhi and M Karunanidhi, respectively) for ceding the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1974. A political row has erupted surrounding the Katchatheevu island ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. (Divya Chandrababu/HT Photo) Edison Aruldas, who was born the same year when the island was ceded, accompanies his father on the boat to fish across Katchatheevu since he was six years old. He recalls a time when it was not so hostile with the Sri Lankan navy in the high seas. “As a child I remember a navy officer giving bread and jam. We would exchange food when we met …

MEA Steers Clear of Katchatheevu Row, Says EAM Jaishankar Has Clarified All Issues

Published by Webster

Last Updated: April 05, 2024, 00:08 IST Jaishankar asserted that the issue has not cropped up abruptly but was always a live matter. (AP File Photo) The Narendra Modi government has targeted the Congress and its ally DMK accusing it of overlooking national interests in the ceding of Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in the mid-1970s The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday steered clear of the row surrounding Katchatheevu island. To a volley of questions on the Katchatheevu issue, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal referred to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent comments on the matter. “I would like to tell you that on the issues that have been raised, the external affairs minister has spoken to the press here in Delhi and also in Gujarat clarifying all the issues,” he said. “I would refer that you please look at his press engagements. You will get your answers there,” Jaiswal said. The Narendra Modi government has targeted the Congress and its ally DMK accusing it of overlooking national interests in the ceding of Katchatheevu …

DMK was a party to the discussions on Katchatheevu issue: Jaishankar

Published by Parlour News

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar accused DMK of adopting double standards on the Katchatheevu island issue.  | Photo Credit: ANI External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar accused the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) of adopting double standards on the Katchatheevu island issue. Claiming the ruling party in Tamil Nadu “was very much a party” to the negotiations between the then Central government and Sri Lanka, he alleged the DMK had varying positions on the issue during discussions in the Parliament and outside. “I think what is most important is that the people of Tamil Nadu should know the truth. When the Central government was negotiating the issue, they were actually consulting the then State government, which was led by the DMK, but that was kept a secret. So, DMK was very much a party to these negotiations, very much a party to this outcome,” he said, while addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. Mr. Jaishankar also said the Central government would never accept that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is not an integral part of India. This, …

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin Slams PM Modi Amid Row Over Katchatheevu Island

Published by Webster

Chennai:  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin slammed the BJP for raising the Katchatheevu issue ahead of the the Lok Sabha polls and said that the issue has started to backfire now. Criticising PM Modi, Mr Stalin further questioned that why did PM did not ever spoke to Sri Lanka government to return back Katchatheevu Island. “How much time PM Narendra Modi has gone to Sri Lanka in the last 10 years? Has he asked Sri Lanka government to give back Katchatheevu Island even once. When he met Sri Lankan president did he tell that Katchatheevu Island belongs to India. At that time Katchatheevu is not remembered by PM Modi,” Mr Stalin said. He asked PM Modi that he remembers that Katchatheevu took place during Nehru and Indira Gandhi period, but does he remember an event that happened before two years? “PM Modi, in May 26, 2022 came to Chennai at Nehru Indoor stadium and participated in a event. In that event I requested and asked him to release GST fund, give …