DMK Patriarch Kalaignar Dr.M.Karunaithy has dismissed the allegation made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minsiter Jayalaitha that he was responsible for India handing over Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka is devoid of truth.
He made this observation in a statement issued in response to a charge made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister that he agreed to the cessation agreement.
He charged Jayalalithaa had, in 1994, written to then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao saying that “ceding of this tiny island to the island nation had been done by the Government of India in the interest of better bilateral relations.” In another letter to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003, she said, “the best possible solution is to get the island of Katchatheevu and adjacent seas on lease in perpetuity solely for fishing, drying of nets and pilgrimage. Sri Lanka’s sovereignty over Katchatheevu could be upheld at the same time.”
He further explained that when he was Chief Minister, he had made maximum efforts to retrieve Katchatheevu. The DMK government had, in 1974 itself, adopted a resolution in the Assembly objecting to ceding of the island to Sri Lanka.
