A political confrontation has erupted on social media between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Tamil Nadu BJP State President K. Annamalai over the long-standing Katchatheevu island dispute and the plight of Tamil Nadu fishermen.
Hon’ble @DrSJaishankar, The DMK Government has always staunchly opposed the ceding of Katchatheevu and has fought tirelessly to protect the rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen.
Despite the BJP-led government being in power for the third consecutive term, no meaningful steps have been… pic.twitter.com/Z5ql0JMrjM
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) July 2, 2024
In a tweet directed at External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, CM MK Stalin reiterated the DMK government’s opposition to the ceding of Katchatheevu and criticized the BJP-led central government for its inaction. Stalin’s tweet read:
“Hon’ble @DrSJaishankar, the DMK Government has always staunchly opposed the ceding of Katchatheevu and has fought tirelessly to protect the rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen. Despite the BJP-led government being in power for the third consecutive term, no meaningful steps have been taken to retrieve the island except for using the issue as an election-time rhetoric. Meanwhile, our fishermen continue to be arrested, with 25 more apprehended on 01.07.2024. The need of the hour is to ease the problems faced by the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and to find a lasting solution to this festering problem.”
The minutes of the meeting between the foreign secretary of Govt of India & the former CM of TN, Thiru Karunanidhi avl, revealed that he was fully aware of the ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka and was inclined towards accepting the suggested solution.
Yet, his son & the CM… https://t.co/2al6qoEWGK pic.twitter.com/avyS5FLsp6
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) July 2, 2024
In response, Tamil Nadu BJP Chief Annamalai accused MK Stalin of spreading misinformation and highlighted a historical meeting involving Stalin’s father and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi. Annamalai tweeted:
“The minutes of the meeting between the foreign secretary of Govt of India & the former CM of TN, Thiru Karunanidhi, revealed that he was fully aware of the ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka and was inclined towards accepting the suggested solution. Yet, his son & the CM of TN, Thiru @mkstalin, is lying through his teeth to the people of TN that DMK was staunchly opposed to the ceding of Katchatheevu. Having put the lives and livelihood of our fishermen at risk for decades, DMK refuses to apologise to the people but seeks recourse for their mistakes. TN CM Thiru @mkstalin must know that the constructive steps taken by our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi had only ensured that the lives of our fishermen are not at risk on the high seas, unlike the times of the UPA when there was no guarantee of their return.”
Annamalai has shared an excerpt from a document to support his statements. The document states, “The Foreign Secretary mentioned that the purpose was to keep the Tamil Nadu government fully informed of the developments in the talks with Sri Lanka and to benefit from the views and suggestions of the Tamil Nadu authorities.” Additionally, the document refutes CM MK Stalin’s claims, noting, “The Chief Minister indicated that he was inclined to accept the suggested solution.”
The Katchatheevu island, a small, uninhabited piece of land located between India and Sri Lanka, has been a contentious issue for decades, impacting the livelihoods of fishermen from Tamil Nadu. The island was ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974 under an agreement between the two countries. Since then, there have been repeated calls from Tamil Nadu’s political leaders for its retrieval, citing the adverse effects on local fishermen who often face arrests and harassment by the Sri Lankan Navy.
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