MADURAI: Slamming the ruling BJP for reigniting the Katchatheevu row, that was ceded to Sri Lanka by the Indira Gandhi-led government, right before the Lok Sabha election, NTK Chief Coordinator Seeman said that the saffron party had jerked out of its sleep over the issue.
Seeman was addressing a gathering in Madurai on Sunday, when he suggested that BJP state president K Annamalai, who had reportedly filed an RTI petition on the Katchatheevu issue, instead file RTI petitions on the Mekedatu issue, Tamil Elam war, Manipur riots, and Gujarat riots. "In the last 10 years, they have not spoken about Katchatheevu. The BJP felt the issue warrants people's attention just a few days before election," Seeman added.
"I am not BJP's B team. Rather the BJP was the B team of NTK. Annamalai was the sleeper cell of Seeman. Since people in Tamil Nadu are familiar with the acting prowess of the late legend Sivaji Ganesan, they would see that Narendra Modi is acting as well. Both the BJP and Congress have been against retrieving Katchatheevu whenever cases have come up before courts. I don't believe that BJP will get back Katchatheevu. The ruling party may change, but their stand on Katchatheevu won't," he said.
Talking about the party's symbol of 'sugarcane farmer' being taken away, Seeman said that it was done out of fear of losing the poll. "They know that Seeman would get the most votes if the party was given the same symbol. The biggest parties in the country are afraid of NTK. When the party approached the ECI regarding the symbol, we were told that the symbol was issued to another party. since it was on first-come-first-serve basis.
Then, how was TTV Dhinakaran able to get the pressure cooker symbol, and GK Vasan the cycle symbol. I believe that the ECI was acting independently until this incident. However, they have underestimated the voters", Seeman said.