Katchatheevu Ceding Issue Leads to Heated Debate in House
DMK MLA Kadhar Batcha alias Muthuramalingam cited details from the TVK policy document claiming that 1,291 Tamil fishermen had been arrested by Lanka in the past five years
CHENNAI: The ghost of Katchatheevu returned to haunt the Assembly on Wednesday, triggering a bitter war of words between the ruling Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) and the DMK, with the members trading charges over whether the island was ceded to Sri Lanka with the consent of the then chief minister M. Karunanidhi.
During the debate on the demands for grants, DMK MLA Kadhar Batcha alias Muthuramalingam cited details from the TVK policy document claiming that 1,291 Tamil fishermen had been arrested by Lanka in the past five years and 1,253 had been released.
He said the role of the DMK government in securing their release should not be forgotten.
Water resources minister N. Anand immediately intervened, laughingly retorting that “they were the ones who gave away Katchatheevu”. The remark triggered uproar in the House, with DMK members strongly objecting to it.
E.V. Velu defended the DMK, saying the Assembly had repeatedly adopted resolutions demanding the retrieval of Katchatheevu. He recalled that it was ceded when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister and asserted that the DMK had consistently demanded that the Centre retrieve it.
Law minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, conceding the role of the Centre, asked why the state government did nothing to stop it.
Nirmal Kumar alleged that the then external affairs secretary had met Karunanidhi privately at least twice and held detailed consultations before the decision was taken.
He claimed that Katchatheevu was ceded with Karunanidhi’s consent. He alleged that the DMK government had silently accepted the decision and failed to inform the people or debate it in the Assembly.
Velu accused the minister of placing “completely false facts” on record. He maintained that Katchatheevu was handed over without the state’s consent and the DMK’s position remained unchanged: Katchatheevu must be retrieved.
DMK’s Govi Chezhiaan said the debate’s focus had changed.
