Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar discussed his opinions during the press conference regarding the Katchatheevu problem. According to him, this is not a problem that just sprung up today. There has been discussion on this matter and it has been brought up repeatedly in Tamil Nadu and Parliament. On this matter, I have responded to the current Chief Minister twenty-one times.
According to him, the DMK and Congress are acting as though they have no accountability and that this is a very new problem. However, he was the one who actually did this. The public is entitled to information about Katchatheevu's 1974 giveaway. M Karunanidhi, the leader of the DMK and the previous chief minister, was also fully aware of this deal.
The minister of external affairs claimed that the prime minister of the Congress was uninterested in this matter. The rights of Indian fisherman were forfeited when Katchatheevu Island was handed to Sri Lanka. Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, among other prime ministers, referred to Katchatheevu as a little island and a small rock.
1. The 1974 agreement contained three clauses.
Jaishankar stated that the maritime border between Sri Lanka and India was established by an agreement signed in 1974. Sri Lanka was awarded Katchatheevu in the process of drawing this border. This agreement has three extra requirements.
2. The DMK and Congress are downplaying their roles in Katchatheevu. S Regarding the Katchatheevu and fisherman issue, Jaishankar stated that the Congress and DMK are currently acting in a way that absolves them of responsibility and that the matter should be resolved by the current federal government. As if it had never happened before and had no past. It is Congress-DMK that is bringing up this matter.
Sri Lanka has caught 6184 Indian fishermen in the past 20 years. 1175 fishing boats owned by Indians were taken. These folks bring up the subject whenever there is an arrest. Making pronouncements from Chennai is simple, but we know how to set those fisherman free.First and foremost, neither nation will need a travel document to access Katchatheevu; second, Indian fisherman will be permitted to use the area. Both nations would retain complete autonomy over their territorial seas. Third: Indian and Sri Lankan boats will be able to travel the same routes inside each other's borders as they have historically.
The Parliament was presented with this accord. On July 23, 1974, then-Foreign Minister Swaran Singh gave the Parliament this assurance. I'm reading his own remark, which states, "I think it is just and right that the boundaries between the two countries have been determined equally."
Additionally, Swaran Singh ji had stated, "I want to remind all the members that both countries will have the right to fish, practice their respective religions, and operate boats in the future" after reaching the agreement. Two years later, India and Sri Lanka inked another pact.
