Katchatheevu is "manufactured controversy": Chidambaram slams BJP

CHENNAI: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday referred to the Katchatheevu island issue that hit headlines in recent days as a "manufactured controversy" by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "The Prime Minister was silent for nine years, they documented that the Ministry of External Affairs holds the file, for nine years. Suddenly, in the middle of elections, they ask the BJP (state) president to submit an RTI question. Unbelievably, in nine years the reply comes. This is a manufactured controversy," Chidambaram said in an interview with ANI on Tuesday.

The former Congress Minister said that the Tamil people are at risk of getting hurt if the unnecessary controversy leads to confrontation between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils in Sri Lanka. "The Prime Minister is doing great injustice to the Sri Lankan Tamils. After the Katchatheevu agreement was signed nearly six lakh Tamils were repatriated to India and they are living peacefully here...There are 25 lakh Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka, there are still nearly 10 lakh Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka. Their interests are paramount. If you create a situation of confrontation between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils in Sri Lanka, between the Sinhalese people and the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, it is the Tamil people who will be hurt," Chidambaram said.

The Rajya Sabha MP said that the BJP government in an RTI reply in 2015 stated that the Katchatheevu island fell on the Sri Lankan side of the International Maritime Border Line and the island was neither acquired not ceded. "In 2015, in an RTI reply, the Ministry of External Affairs formally replied saying that Katchatheevu is based on international law and the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL). After looking at the evidence the Government of Sri Lanka agreed with the Government of India that Katchatheevu fell on the Sri Lankan side of the International Maritime Border Line," Chidambaram said.

"The most significant line of the letter is that Katchatheevu was neither acquired nor ceded to anyone. Having said the word, how can the Prime Minister say that India ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka? Why does he not read his own government's records? Who was the Prime Minister in 2015? Jaishankar was the second-ranking officer in the MEA and I think the next day he took over as Foreign Secretary," the Congress MP added. Lashing out at the BJP government for suddenly waking up to the issue after nine years and not making adequate efforts to fix the issue, Chidambaram said, "Having made a formal statement in 2015 why did the Prime Minister suddenly wake up nine years later? If he was so passionate about Katchatheevu what did he do in the last nine years? How many times have he visited Sri Lanka? How many times has the Prime Minister or the President of Sri Lanka visited India? How many times has Mr Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka?"

The former Union Finance Minister also asked why the Prime Minister was silent over the issue when the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister raised it at an event in Chennai. "The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister in a memorandum raised the issue of Katchatheevu with the Prime Minister in a gathering at Nehru Stadium, Chennai. Why did the Prime Minister not reply?" Chidambaram said.

Speaking on the performance of the All India Anna Dravidian Progressive Federation (AIADMK) which broke its ties with the BJP, Chidambaram said that the regional party will play no role in the Lok Sabha elections. "This is an election to the Lok Sabha. State party like AIADMK which is not in alliance with the Congress or the BJP is irrelevant. Assuming that the AIADMK will win one seat or two seats, what will it do? The last time the AIADMK won a single seat in Theni. He got a seat in the last row of Parliament and he is completely insignificant and invisible. Therefore the AIADMK has no stake in this election," the senior Congress leader said.

"The two alliances that have a stake in this election in Tamil Nadu is the DMK-led alliance which includes the Congress and the BJP-led alliance," he added. In a stern attack on the BJP for allegedly "deceiving" Tamil Nadu, Chidambaram said that the central government has not disbursed adequate funds to the southern state and has not even paid a Ruppee under the Disaster Relief Fund after the state was knocked by national disasterss in December last year.

"Why are we saying- Don't give the BJP a third term? This is because they have got 10 years. In these 10 years, what have they done for Tamil Nadu? They have neglected and deceived Tamil Nadu. Out of the revenues collected from Tamil Nadu, out of every rupee only 29 paise is returned to Tamil Nadu," the former Union Minister said. "The central government refused to give flood relief under the Disaster Relief Fund. The Disaster Relief Fund was created only for such specific disasters. Despite torrential rains and floods in Chennai and Thoothukudi in December, we are now in the middle of April, not one Rupee has come. Therefore, there are several injustices to Tamil Nadu," he added.

Continuing his attack against the BJP, Chidambaram said that the BJP government has led to record inflation in the country and massive unemployment. "The residue of the 10 years of BJP rule is only two: uncontrolled price rise or inflation, and the other is historic unemployment. 42 per cent of graduates are unemployed for several years. IIT which is the premier institute of India reported three days ago that 30 per cent of the graduates in class have not found jobs. What is the record of the BJP in the 10 years? There is no reason to vote for the BJP. They have had two terms...After 10 years the time has come for a change," Chidambaram said.

Speaking about the electoral prospects of the Congress and the DMK in Tamil Nadu this election, Chidambaram said, "We will win all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in Puducherry."