COIMBATORE: In response to Chief Minister MK Stalin’s statement that Tamil Nadu government did not have any role in conceding Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1974, BJP state president K Annamalai said former chief minister M Karunanidhi gave his consent to the Congress government’s decision and charged the DMK with betraying fisherfolk.
Addressing media persons after inaugurating an election office on Monday, Annamalai displayed copies of what he claimed were copies of RTI reply of the official communication between Tamil Nadu and the Union government regarding transfer of ownership of the island to Sri Lanka. Charging the DMK with betraying fisherfolk, Annamalai said the party has no moral right to speak about Katchatheevu issue.
Asked why the BJP has taken up the issue 10 years after they came to power at the centre, particularly during the election time, Annamalai said they filed the RTI query after Stalin claimed that they had no role in transfer of the island during his speech in Ramanathapuram two months ago.”
“To place the facts before people, we sought information through RTI and got the reply recently,” he said, adding that the transfer of Katchatheevu was the sole reason for the killing of hundreds of fisherman by Sri Lankan navy as they used to venture near the international maritime boundary line. Asked if BJP has come up with a plan to retrieve Katchatheevu, Annamalai said the party has initiated discussions on the matter. Replying to a query on Congress’s claim that hundreds of thousands of hectares have been occupied by China in Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, Annamalai said no land was encroached by China during the BJP rule.
