Political parties, both ruling and opposition, often make poll planks out of certain issues, a normal practice during elections. But the DMK, after trying various freebies and impossible, exaggerated promises such as the abolition of NEET, total prohibition, the reintroduction of the old pension scheme for government employees, and a reduction in petrol and diesel prices, has now turned to emotional issues once again. This year, to checkmate the BJP-led NDA alliance, Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin is raking up matters like the abolition of NEET, the retrieval of Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka, imaginary fears of delimitation, and the alleged imposition of Hindi.
He forgets that it was his father, M. Karunanidhi, who, along with Indira Gandhi, ceded rights over Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka in 1974. During the NDA regime, arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen and shootings against them have drastically reduced, and, through diplomatic channels, even the arrested fishermen are sent back to Bharat. This diplomacy has saved many lives from the gallows.
According to the opposition, the DMK knows that retrieving Katchatheevu is far from reality, yet it raises the issue only to turn the tables on the Modi government and mislead the Tamil Nadu electorate. They say the DMK follows Nazi propagandist Paul Joseph Goebbels’ dictum that a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth. The Katchatheevu and Hindi imposition narratives, they argue, are examples of this. It was, in fact, during the UPA-II regime that NEET and GST were introduced, yet the DMK blames the NDA even for the smallest issues.
With the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections fast approaching, the DMK wants to ride over a strong wave of anti-incumbency and cover up its total failures in law and order, as well as its inability to fulfil poll promises. The party, therefore, seeks ways and means to divert people’s attention from these failures, needing a scapegoat to pin blame upon. It is a blame game, shifting its failures onto opponents while pasting stickers of others’ achievements as its own.
In 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Sri Lankan counterpart, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, signed the Agreement between India and Sri Lanka on the Boundary in Historic Waters between the Two Countries and Related Matters of 1974, marking the official demarcation of the maritime boundary from the Palk Strait to Adam’s Bridge. This maritime boundary agreement between the two nations paved the way for the 1976 pact, which formally gave away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka.
Chief Minister Stalin has been consistently advocating for the retrieval of the island, describing it as the only permanent solution to the problems faced by the state’s fishermen. Speaking at a government function on October 3, he said that the State Assembly had passed a resolution calling for the retrieval of the islet from Sri Lanka. He accused PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar of showing no interest during their recent visit to the island nation. “For Modi and Jaishankar, Tamil Nadu fishermen are less important,” he said. “When the Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister categorically stated that the islet belonged to them, the Indian External Affairs Ministry expressed neither disappointment nor disagreement with the statement.”
In July, Stalin reiterated, “Our government is taking all necessary steps towards the retrieval of Katchatheevu. Whenever I meet the Prime Minister, I reiterate the need to retrieve Katchatheevu to bring about a permanent solution to the fishermen’s issue. We have, in fact, passed a resolution in the Assembly for the same. We are constantly urging the Union Government to ensure the release of our fishermen who are suffering in Sri Lankan prisons along with their boats. The Union BJP government, which doesn’t care about Tamil Nadu and our fishermen, is only politicising the Katchatheevu matter. Treaties with foreign countries usually come under the ambit of the Union Government. What has the BJP government at the Centre done in the last 10 years to retrieve Katchatheevu? Have they at least stopped the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities? No.”
Stalin further accused, “Recently, the Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister stated that Tamil Nadu fishermen are trespassing into their waters. He made it clear that Sri Lanka will not give up its rights over Katchatheevu. Yet, our External Affairs Minister Jaishankar has not given any rebuttal so far.”
Reacting to Stalin’s comments, former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai told the media on October 7, “Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is engaging in pure political drama by raking up the retrieval of the Katchatheevu Island from Sri Lanka to divert attention from the administrative failure of his government in handling the Karur stampede. When the whole of Tamil Nadu was talking about the Karur tragedy and the DMK government’s failure, the CM came for one night and has not spoken about it since. Every time there’s a crisis, the DMK brings up this issue to divert attention. Everyone knows the Tamil Nadu BJP’s stand on Katchatheevu. Former CM Karunanidhi allowed the island to be given to Sri Lanka by the Centre and later protested by filing a case in the Supreme Court. The DMK ceded the island without taking anyone into confidence, not even the Tamil Nadu people. In fact, Karunanidhi, as Chief Minister, secretly advised the Central government to cede Katchatheevu, and later staged a drama by going to the Supreme Court against it. It was an absolute betrayal by the Congress and the DMK for gifting away the island.”
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, speaking in Dharmapuri on October 3, said, “The DMK has been trying to project the AIADMK as being responsible for not retrieving the islet in the interest of fishermen. It is indulging in drama and deception.” He reminded Stalin that in 1974, when his father Karunanidhi was Chief Minister, he failed to prevent the Congress government from ceding the islet to Sri Lanka on a platter. He added that former AIADMK Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had filed a case before the Supreme Court in 2008, calling for the retrieval of the island.
Union Minister of State for Information, L. Murugan, said that Stalin had no moral right to speak about the welfare of fishermen. In a statement, he alleged that Stalin was repeatedly uttering lies on the issue, hoping people would forget the DMK’s mistakes. “The then Congress government at the Centre and the DMK government led by M. Karunanidhi ceded control of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka without public consultation. Parliament never gave its approval. The Congress-DMK alliance betrayed the people on this issue. Stalin should tender an apology; he has no moral right to question the Modi government,” he said.
TVK president Joseph Vijay also spoke about retrieving the islet during his party’s second state conference in Madurai, where he appealed to the Prime Minister to take action to get the island back.
Former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said that CM Stalin was talking about Katchatheevu only to divert public attention from real issues such as the Karur stampede and other failures, calling it “a diversionary tactic.”
Stalin criticised AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami for being “hand in glove” with the BJP, which, he alleged, had consistently targeted Tamils and Tamil Nadu. “The DMK government in Tamil Nadu will not succumb to the designs of the Centre and will continue to face it boldly,” Stalin said. He also accused the Union government of boasting about “a big bonanza” to the public while ignoring demands to reduce the exorbitant tax structure. “BJP leaders have suddenly started visiting Tamil Nadu as the polls near. Tamil Nadu will remain vigilant and not be swayed by such tactics,” he said.
Earlier this month, before Stalin visited Rameswaram, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited the Katchatheevu area, reportedly as part of his own political strategy ahead of Sri Lanka’s provincial elections next year. His visit was seen as an attempt to regain the support of Sinhalese fisherfolk in order to secure victory.
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