Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday defended the agreement to give away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. He said this agreement was arrived at in 1974 and 1976 after long negotiations. "PM Modi is referring to a recent RTI reply, he should refer to the RTI reply of January 27, 2015, when I believe EAM S Jaishankar was foreign secretary. That reply clearly says that after negotiations, the island lay on the Srilankan side of the international border," he said in a video response shared by news agency ANI.
Earlier today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar claimed that prime ministers from the Congress displayed indifference about Katchatheevu island and gave away Indian fishermen's rights despite legal views to the contrary. He said Prime Ministers such as 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".
Hitting back at the FM, Chidambaram referred to an RTI reply by the MEA on January 25, 2015. "The Reply justified the circumstances under which India acknowledged that a small island belonged to Sri Lanka. Why is the Foreign Minister and his ministry doing a somersault now?" he asked.
"How quickly can people change colours. From a suave liberal Foreign Service officer to a smart Foreign Secretary to a mouthpiece of the RSS-BJP, life and times of Mr Jaishankar will be recorded in the annals of acrobatic sports," the Congress MP said.
Chidambaram, a Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu, said former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi acknowledged the island belonged to Sri Lanka because 6 lakh Tamils were suffering in that country, and they had to come to India as refugees and settled here. "As a result of this settlement, 6 lakh Tamils came to India and they are enjoying freedom with all the human rights here," he said.
Chidambaram said that MEA's reply on January 27, 2015 concludes the matter. "Why are you raking this after 50 years? Why are not you talking about what happened in 2-3 years," he asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Sunday said the Congress "callously gave away Katchatheevu" to Sri Lanka.
Chidambaram said the area of Kachchathivi is 1.9 sq km. "China has usurped 2000 square km of Indian land. Mr Modi justified China's aggression by saying "no Chinese troops are on Indian soil"...China broadcast Mr. Modi's speech to the world," he said. "The land that China has seized is 1000 times bigger than a small island."
The Congress veteran leader said that the "benevolent exchange is one thing, malicious expropriation is another".
Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai on Sunday alleged first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was inclined to give away Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka despite an opinion that endorsed India's sovereignty. Annamalai said the ceding of Katchatheevu was a "mystery, who gave it and under what circumstances, this was a mystery".