NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday led a BJP cost in opposition to the Congress for “callously” giving freely Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka, slamming it as yet one more “anti-national” act of the occasion for which the nation remains to be paying the worth.
With the difficulty having a resonance in Tamil Nadu whose fishermen typically bear the brunt of Lankan motion in opposition to their alleged intrusion into its waters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit again asking why the federal government didn’t act to take again the island in its 10 years in energy and termed Modi’s assault as poll-eve desperation.
Kharge accused the PM of displaying his desperation by elevating the “sensitive issue” forward of Lok Sabha elections. He additionally criticised the PM for giving what he referred to as a “clean chit” to China following the Galwan Valley tragedy the place 20 Indian troopers misplaced their lives.
“You have suddenly woken up to the issues of territorial integrity and national security in your 10th year of misrule. Perhaps, elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable,” Kharge stated in a tweet.

Kharge highlighted that the Katchatheevu island was handed over to Sri Lanka as a part of a pleasant settlement in 1974, much like India’s gesture in the direction of Bangladesh with the trade of border enclaves.
He identified the inconsistency in Modi’s sudden give attention to territorial integrity and nationwide safety after a decade in workplace, suggesting political motives behind these actions.
Quoting PM Modi’s personal phrases from 2015 concerning the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, Kharge emphasised the significance of such agreements in fostering pleasant relations between nations. He drew parallels between the Katchatheevu settlement and different historic initiatives taken by Indian leaders to take care of the nation’s unity and territorial integrity.

“On the eve of elections in Tamil Nadu, you are rasing this sensitive issue, but your own Govt’s Attorney General, Mukul Rohtagi in 2014 told the following to the Supreme Court. ‘Katchatheevu went to Sri Lanka by an agreement in 1974… How can it be taken back today? If you want Katchatheevu back, you will have to go to war to get it back’,” stated Kharge.
“Gandhi ji, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel ji, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi – all our beloved leaders lived and died for India’s unity, our territorial integrity. Sardar Patel played a vital role in uniting 600 princely states. In contrast, you, PM Modi, gave a Clean chit to China, after 20 bravehearts made supreme sacrifice in Galwan Valley,” he stated.

Kharge additionally raised questions concerning the Modi authorities’s dealing with of international coverage, notably regarding neighboring international locations like Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. He criticized the federal government for what he described as international coverage failures that led to Pakistan buying weapons from Russia, highlighting considerations about India’s strategic relationships within the area.
“What is not an “Eye opening and startling” is how you raised the belligerence levels of even otherwise friendly neighbours like Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives! It is first time in history, that Pakistan bought weapons from Russia, due to your foreign policy failure,” stated Kharge.
“It was the Congress, that despite severe constraints, kept the issue of Tibet’s sovereignty alive, only to be summarily squandered by a predecessor PM of your party,” the Congress president added.
‘Eye-opening and startling’
PM Modi had seized on a report – based mostly on an RTI reply Tamil Nadu BJP president Ok Annamalai acquired on the choice of the then Indira Gandhi authorities in 1974 at hand over the territory in Palk Strait to the neighbouring nation – to focus on the Congress, an ally of the state’s ruling DMK.
“Eye-opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds- we can’t ever trust Congress,” he stated on X, sharing the report.
Modi added, “Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting.”
He raised the matter later at his rally in Meerut and linked the difficulty of the seize of Tamil Nadu fishermen and the seizure of their boats by the Lankan forces to the island treaty.
(With inputs from businesses)