Modi takes up Katchatheevu issue for electoral benefits: Jayakumar

CHENNAI: Senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar on Monday criticised the BJP government at the centre for raking up the decades-old Katchatheevu issue ahead of the general elections and wondered about the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 10 years over the issue.

"Being the Prime Minister of the nation for 10 years, he never registered his condemnation against the attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. He remained silent all these years and now, he is taking up the issue to garner votes in Tamil Nadu, " Jayakumar told the journalist while campaigning for party candidate for Chennai North constituency R Manohar (alias) Royapuram Mano.

The former fisheries minister continued in the same vein and criticisted Modi for flagging the issue at the fag end of the BJP regime.

The decades-old issue came alive on Sunday following the social media posts by Modi, highlighting the RTI reply from the Ministry of External Affairs to state BJP president K Annamalai over Katchatheevu, which was ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974.

Continuing in the same vein, Jayakumar wondered what stopped him from taking any concrete measures to retrieve the island.

"Why the PM (Modi) not take any action (to retrieve Katchatheevu) in the last 10 years?, " Jayakumar asked.

Several TN fishermen were languishing in the Sri Lankan prisons and undergoing rigorous imprisonment there, he said and questioned did the PM condemned their arrest?

He charged that the then DMK regime, fearing legal action based on the Sarkaria Commission report, did not protest against the Congress party's decision to give up the rights over the island.

"Now, the DMK party made a poll promise that it will take measures to retrieve Katchatheevu," he sasid and noted it was nothing but a fake promise.