It’s an island of discontent. Katchatheevu, a buffer piece of land between India and Sri Lanka, which was ceded to the neighbouring nation in 1974, is back to taking centre stage in Tamil Nadu politics, with all regional parties adopting an anti-Centre stance on the issue. The reason being, the island is a lifeline for fishermen from the state.
A counter affidavit filed by the Centre in response to a PIL filed by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for “retrieving” the islet has come as a shock for the state. UPA’s affidavit said the islet was a disputed area which was settled by India and Lanka through agreements in 1974 and 1976. Moreover, the Centre has categorically said the Tamil Nadu fishermen have no right to engage in fishing along Katchatheevu as per the two agreements. The Centre’s stance taking sides with Lanka has evoked very strong protests from fishermen and leaders of political parties alike.
Jayalalithaa had put forth strong arguments in her PIL providing documentary evidence to prove that the islet was indeed part of Tamil Nadu from time immemorial. She has been in the forefront in the fight for retrieving this islet right from her first tenure as the chief minister of the state in 1991.
Since then, she has been fighting both legally and politically to retrieve Katchatheevu. She has written many a letter to successive Prime Ministers on this issue and on August 7, 2008, she took her legal battle to a new level.
She, as AIADMK’s general secretary, filed a PIL before the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for declaring the agreements of Katchatheevu dated June 26, 1974 and March 23, 1976 as unconstitutional.
Jayalalithaa’s primary contention was that the cession of Katchatheevu island has been purported to be effected without any constitutional amendment as such is non-est and void ab initio. In this connection, she quoted a similar incident that took place in West Bengal in 1960,i.e., 14 years before the ceding of Katchatheevu.
When the Centre decided to cede Berubari in West Bengal to Bangladesh in 1960, the then chief minister of the state moved the SC and the apex court had given verdict against the Centre’s decision, as a result till now Berubari, remains part of West Bengal.
On May 3 2013, Jayalalithaa moved a resolution in the Assembly urging the Centre to retrieve Katchatheevu from Lanka to put a full stop to the sufferings of the fishermen from Tamil Nadu in the hands of Lankan Navy and to find a permanent solution to the livelihood issues faced by Tamil Nadu fishermen. The Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution.
In a belated move, DMK president M Karunanidhi, a couple of months ago, filed a petition before the SC to ‘retrieve’ Katchatheevu.