Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said the remarks by some Indian political leaders about “reclaiming” Kachatiu Island from the island nation were “baseless”. He also said it was not “unusual” to hear claims and counter-claims about the strategic island as a result of India’s campaign.
Sri Lankan Tamil Devananda’s comments came days after the Narendra Modi-led government accused the Congress party and its ally DMK in Tamil Nadu of converting Kachattiu island into a state in 1974. National interest was ignored in handing over to Sri Lanka.
The BJP also criticized the two parties for not ensuring the rights of fishermen who want to fish in the waters surrounding the island. Both the Congress and DMK have denied the BJP’s allegations.
“It’s election time in India and it’s not unusual to hear these kinds of complaints and counter-claims about Kachatiu,” Devananda told reporters in Jaffna on Thursday.
“I think India is acting in its interest to secure the area to ensure that Sri Lankan fishermen do not have access to the area and that Sri Lanka should not assert any rights in this resource-rich area,” Devananda said, adding Said that such a statement “to seize Kachatiu Island from Sri Lanka is “unwarranted”.
Devananda said that under the 1974 agreement, Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen could fish in the territorial waters of the two countries until the agreement was reviewed and revised in 1976.
The revised agreement resulted in fishermen from both countries being banned from fishing in adjacent waters.
“It is claimed that there is a place called Wadge Bank beneath Kanyakumari. It is a much larger area with rich marine resources. It is 80 times larger than Kachchatheevu and India acquired it in a 1976 review agreement.”
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday recused itself from the dispute surrounding Kachattiu Island.
Responding to a series of questions on the Kachattiu issue, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal referred to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent comments on the matter.
“I would like to inform you that regarding the issues raised, the external affairs minister has addressed the press in Delhi and Gujarat and clarified all the issues,” he said.
“I suggest you look at his press activities. You will get your answers there,” he added.
On April 1, Jaishankar claimed that the Congress prime minister had shown indifference to Kachattivu Island and abandoned the rights of Indian fishermen, despite legal views to the contrary.
He said that in the past 20 years, Sri Lanka has detained as many as 6,184 Indian fishermen and seized, impounded or arrested 1,175 Indian fishing boats. “That’s the context of what we’re discussing,” the minister said.
(Inputs from PTI)
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