SIVAGANGA: Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP do not have any issues to talk about, they raked up Katchatheevu as a topic of discussion, former union minister and Congress Election Manifesto Committee head P Chidambaram said on Saturday.
Addressing media persons in Karaikudi, Chidambaram said the Katchatheevu row happened 50 years ago, and no one acquired or ceded the island. He accused the BJP of using the Katchatheevu issue for political mileage. “If Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar claim they are Tamils, then let them contest in Tamil Nadu like Tamilisai Soundararajan, L Murugan and K Annamalai and raise the Katchatheevu issue during the elections. Why did they not contest? Why are they hiding behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi and raising the issue?” Chidambaram asked.
“The union ministers’ statements would only lead to confrontation between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils living in the island nation. They must stop talking about this issue,” he said.
Referring to the RTI reply issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in 2015, Chidambaram said the reply stated that “Katchatheevu was neither acquired nor ceded and lies on the Sri Lankan side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line.” Reminding that it was Modi who was the prime minister in 2015 when the RTI reply was issued, he opined that the “closed issue should not be reopened.” Stating that the BJP has been saved over the years only because of the schemes and projects introduced by the Congress, Chidambaram said, “I am waiting to see the BJP’s election manifesto, especially their views on federalism. The BJP has not fulfilled the promises made in their manifesto, and I have a list of such unfulfilled promises.”
Even though there is no direct mention of reducing petrol, diesel or gas prices in the Congress’ manifesto, it will control the cess and taxes that impact fuel price, the senior Congress leader said.
“Giving Rs 1 lakh annually to poor women is possible as the Congress has always fulfilled election promises. Even MGNREGA was an election manifesto and we brought it. The BJP would not agree to any of the contents in the Congress’ manifesto. Unemployment is rampant across the country under the BJP regime. The electoral bond scheme is a huge scam and we will probe into the scheme once we come to power,” Chidambaram said. He also claimed that the PMK and the BJP are not natural allies as both have different opinions on various issues, including caste census.
(With inputs from agencies)
