Katchatheevu Row: ‘The island was Neither acquired nor ceded,’ says Priyanka Chaturvedi citing 2015 RTI response by MEA
Katchatheevu island was neither acquired nor ceded and lies on the Sri Lankan side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line. The 2015 response by MEA assumes significance considering the ongoing political flash point over RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai said that former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi had ceded the Island to Sri Lanka.
Also Read: Katchatheevu Row: What's the issue? What India did 50 years ago? "Maybe MEA India will be able to address these discrepancies in its RTI response in 2015 vis a vis 2024," Chaturvedi said in a post on X. “This did not involve either acquiring or ceding of territory belonging to India since the area in question had never been demarcated.
Under the Agreements, the Island of Katchatheevu lies on the Sri Lankan side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line," the RTI response from the MEA in 2015 read. She said the response was given when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was serving as the country's Foreign Secretary.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar had criticised the attitude of the Congress party towards the Katchatheevu island and said India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru saw it as a 'nuisance'. "Today the Foreign Minister and yesterday the PM claimed it has been 'ceded' So is the change in stance for their election politics or has Modiji made a case for Sri Lanka?" she asked.
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