Jawaharlal Nehru gifted Coco Islands, part of Northern Andamans, to Myanmar, claims BJP's Bishnu Pada Ray

Amid an ongoing row over Katchatheevu that India handed over to Sri Lanka, BJP's Bishnu Pada Ray has claimed that the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had gifted the Coco Islands, which were part of the Northern Andaman Islands, to Myanmar. Bishnu Pada Ray is BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

"The Congress has always harboured anti-India sentiments. Nehru gifted the Coco Islands, which were part of the Northern Andaman Islands, to Myanmar, which is currently under China's direct control," Ray said while speaking to news agency ANI. He said the Congress did not worry about the islands in the 70 years they were in power. "Today, the central government is constructing a shipyard, and two defence airports to counter China in Campbell Bay, which is also known as Indira Point." 

The BJP leader said the grand old party 'cannot even imagine' allocating the kind of funds that the Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has pumped in to shore up the country's defence in the face of external security challenges.

"No Congress leader ever bothered to visit this island cluster, but Modi-ji made regular visits here. I am hopeful that you will soon seen a Congress-mukt Andaman. This time, their candidates will lose their deposits here. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, the sitting MP, did not spend a penny for the development of the islands," he said.

Last month, a Right To Information (RTI) report revealed how the Congress government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi handed over Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1974. Prime Minister Modi said the move "angered" the people and that the "Congress can never be trusted".

Katchatheevu belonged to India till 1974, and it is just 25 km from the Indian coast in Tamil Nadu. 

Over a week after this, India Today reported that the Pakistani port city of Gwadar was once offered to India, but then Prime Minister Nehru turned down the offer. Gwadar was under Omani rule for almost 200 years, until the 1950s. Before Gwadar finally ended up in Pakistani possession in 1958, it was actually offered to India, which the Indian government under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declined.