New Delhi; News Agency: Congress ceded Kachathivu Island to Sri Lanka forever and created a big crisis for India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a serious allegation that the Congress for 70 years only worked to pose challenges to the unity and integrity of India. Every Indian is angry about it. The Prime Minister also asked how he would trust the Congress.
The Prime Minister also cited a RTI report on Kachathivu and shared a post on social media. Indira Gandhi's government gifted the island to Sri Lanka in 1974, the report said.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai had filed an RTI in this regard. Earlier on August 10, 2023, Prime Minister Modi had also made a statement in the Parliament House regarding Kachathivu. The state government of Tamil Nadu writes to me requesting to get back the Kachathivu island. Wasn't this island an integral part of India? Modi had said then that on what basis the Indira Gandhi-led government separated it from India. On the other hand, the Congress has accused the BJP of evading the issue keeping Tamil Nadu elections in mind.
Three points in the RTI report
1) An agreement was signed in 1974 between the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi and the President of Sri Lanka Sirimao Bandaranaike. Under it, Kachathivu Island was formally handed over to Sri Lanka.
2) In 1974 there were two India-Sri Lanka meetings. The first meeting was held in Colombo on June 26 and the second meeting in Delhi on June 28. It was decided to give this island to Sri Lanka.
3) Indian fishermen can go to this island to dry their nets. Indians would have visa-free access to churches on the island, a condition also stipulated in the treaty.
Where is Kachathivu Island?
– The sea area between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka is called Palk Strait. There are many islands here. Kachathivu is one of them.
– 19 km from Rameswaram. It is an island of 285 acres in distance. Kachathivu has spread. It connects the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
– Various agreements between Sri Lanka and China have opened Sri Lankan land to China. Strategically, the island would have been important for India today.